BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 4.4 percent year on year in the second quarter as factories stepped up production amid COVID-19 control, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Thursday.

In June alone, industrial output went up 4.8 percent year on year, faster than the 4.4-percent expansion seen in May and marking the third consecutive month of growth, the NBS data showed.

In the first half of the year, industrial output fell 1.3 percent, dragged down by the 8.4-percent slump in the first quarter as the novel coronavirus outbreak disputed economic activities during the period.

Last month, output by the industries in the production and supply of electricity, thermal power, gas and water reported the quickest recovery by expanding 5.5 percent year on year.

Output in the manufacturing sector went up 5.1 percent, with that of high-tech manufacturing rising 10 percent, while the mining sector saw output up by 1.7 percent.