South Korea's electricity consumption nearly rebounded to the pre-pandemic level in April amid the recovery of industrial and business activities, data showed Friday.

Asia's fourth-largest economy used 41,900 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power in April, up 3.5 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO).

South Korea's power consumption earlier dropped 4.6 percent on-year in April 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a harsh blow to the economy.

The country's electricity sales gathered ground for the sixth consecutive month.

By segment, power sales to the industrial sector rebounded 5 percent, marking the sharpest growth since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The rebound came in line with South Korea's strong export performances.

Outbound shipments jumped 41.1 percent in April from a year earlier, the highest growth in around 10 years, as demand for chips and automobiles stayed strong amid the improving global economy.

The electricity consumption from households, on the other hand, fell 0.2 percent on-year in the month. The decrease apparently came as South Koreans gradually spent more time outside amid eased concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with the previous year. (Yonhap)