(Yicai Global) July 23 -- Shanghai's gross domestic product shrank 2.6 percent in the first half from a year ago to CNY1.74 trillion (USD278 billion) as the eastern city is recovering from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to official data.

The figure is much better than the 6.7 percent decline in the first quarter from a year ago, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics announced today.

Value-added industrial output, which measures the activity of designated large firms with annual turnover of at least CNY20 million (USD2.8 million), slid 6.3 percent. In the first quarter, it had fallen 17.4 percent.

Fixed-asset investment grew 1.5 percent, after narrowing 9.3 percent in the first quarter.

Investment in real estate development climbed 7 percent. It had slumped 8.2 percent in the first three months of the year.

Retail sales of consumer goods declined 11.2 percent, which marked a 9.2-percentage point improvement from the first quarter.

Editor: Emmi Laine