Shanghai's economy expanded 13 percent in the first half this year, said the city's statistics bureau today.

The blistering pace is 0.4 percentage point higher than the corresponding period last year, said the bureau.

Shanghai's gross domestic product in the first six months hit 556.91 billion yuan (US$73.64 billion).

China's economy grew 11.9 percent to 10.68 trillion yuan in the second quarter, the fastest growth in more than a decade, the National Bureau of Statistics said on July 19.

Shanghai's major economic barometers, including fixed-asset investment and retail sales remained strong in the first six months, analysts said in previous reports.

Foreign direct investment to Shanghai grew 7.3 percent to US$4.3 billion through June, a rise of 3.8 percentage points from a year earlier.

Exports from the city are estimated to expand 20.8 percent to US$64.3 billion in the first half while imports will likely jump 21 percent to US$63.5 billion during the period.

Meanwhile, inflation in Shanghai jumped 1.8 percent in the first half led by increasing costs of food and household products, the city's statistics bureau said. The growth outpaced the 1.5-percent rise in inflation in the first quarter.

(Shanghai Daily July 24, 2007)