Korea's money supply grows in Dec.

SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's money supply continued to grow from a month earlier in December on a rise in bank deposits, central bank data showed Friday.

The country's M2 came to 2,909.1 trillion won (US$2.45 trillion) as of end-December, up 0.6 percent from 2,893.1 trillion won tallied a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

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.

The reading marks the 15th consecutive month of increase since September 2018 when the M2 inched down 0.1 percent from a month before.

From a year earlier, the amount jumped 7.9 percent, accelerating from a 7.7 percent increase in November and marking the fastest on-year growth at least since October 2018.

In December, funds held by local households and nonprofit organizations gained 10.6 trillion won while those held by local companies added 13.2 trillion won.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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