Shanghai's economy grew 12.5 percent in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier on the strong growth of service sector, the city's government said today.

The gross domestic product reached 262.5 billion yuan (US$33.96 billion) in the period. The service sector gained 12.7 percent, the fastest quarterly growth for years, the report said.

The manufacturing sector also maintained steady growth in the period but the report didn't reveal the figure.