South Korea’s money supply rises at fastest pace in 10 months in Feb.
The money supply in South Korea accelerated at the fastest pace in 10 months in February on increased corporate lending, central bank data showed on Wednesday.
The country’s M2 totaled 2,570.8 trillion won ($2.41 trillion) in February, up 6.2 percent from 2,420.3 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a statement, Yonhap wrote.
It is the highest on-year gain since April last year, when the money supply increased 6.6 percent from the previous year. From a month earlier, the money supply edged up 0.5 percent in February. The central bank said that companies gave out bonuses for the Lunar New Year’s holiday, which fell on Feb. 16.
M2 is a measure of the money supply that counts the currency in circulation, including bank debentures and deposits with a maturity of less than two years, along with stock investments. It is a key economic indicator closely monitored by the authorities.
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