S. Korea's money supply keeps rising in Feb.

SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) -- The money supply in South Korea remained upbeat in February but the pace slowed slightly due to decreased private lending, central bank data showed Thursday.

The country's M2 totaled 2,730.5 trillion won (US$2.41 trillion) in February, up 6.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

From a month earlier, the money supply edged up 0.2 percent in February, decelerating from a 1.1 percent on-month gain in January to a five-month low, the BOK added.

The on-year growth rate of South Korea's M2 has been at a modestly high level of 5-6 percent since the beginning of 2018 thanks to increased corporate credit.

After peaking at 6.8 percent in the last three months of last year, the rate slowed to 6.5 percent in January and 6.2 percent in February.

The BOK said that a contraction in household lending influenced the slowdown of the money supply in February.

The South Korean government has implemented a series of measures to tighten household lending as part of its efforts to cool down the overheated real estate market.

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.

brk@yna.co.kr
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