MACAO - The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) said Friday that the SAR's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 15.7 percent year-on-year in real terms to MOP 204.3 billion ($25.4 billion) in the first half of this year.

The overall economic output returned to 86.2 percent of the level in the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, with the GDP surpassing the MOP 200 billion-mark again. The last time was in the first half of 2019, the agency said.

Data showed that the SAR's private consumption expenditure rose 7.8 percent year-on-year in the first half, which the DSEC attributed to an increase in residents' incomes amid the improving local economy and labor market.

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On the same day, the DSEC also reported that Macao's composite consumer price index (CPI) for July rose 0.82 percent year-on-year, and its average composite CPI for the first seven months of this year climbed 0.96 percent year-on-year.