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.

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.