China's electricity consumption returned to positive territory in August, suggesting a slight improvement in economic activity.

Power consumption rose 1.9 percent year on year to 512.4 billion kilowatt hours (kwh), compared with a 1.3-percent decline in July and a 1.8-percent increase in June, according to data released by the National Energy Administration (NEA) on Tuesday.

In the first eight months of 2015, total power use edged up 1 percent year on year to 3.68 trillion kwh.

Before the decrease in July, electricity use maintained mild growth from April to June. Analysts had attributed the July drop to relatively cool weather and frequent rainfall as well as lukewarm industrial activity.

Though the growth rate was low, power use recovered gradually from April to June. It rose 1.3 percent in April and 1.6 percent in May.

In August, power use in primary industries went up 2.3 percent while secondary industries climbed 0.7 percent and usage by tertiary industry jumped 7.5 percent, according to the NEA.

China's economic growth slowed to 7 percent in the first and the second quarter of 2015, the lowest quarterly growth rate since 2009, as a result of sluggish external demand and a cooling property industry.