BEIJING, June 13 -- China's industrial production expanded at faster pace in May, adding to signs for a stabilizing economy, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday.

The industrial added-value output rose 8.8 percent in May from a year ago, accelerating 0.1 percentage points from the April figure, the NBS data showed.

On a monthly basis, the industrial output in May rose 0.71 percent from April.

For the January-May period, the total output in the industrial sector increased 8.7 percent year on year, a growth rate that tied with that in the January-April period.

Value-added industrial output measures the final output value of industrial production, or the value of gross industrial output minus intermediate input, such as raw materials and labor costs.

The latest industrial reading was in line with the purchasing managers' index (PMI) in China's manufacturing sector in May, which rose to 50.8 and marked the highest level this year.