S. Korea's Money Supply Growth Quickens In July

The money supply in South Korea continued to grow at a fast pace in July due to a rise in corporate lending, central bank data showed Wednesday.

SEOUL, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Sep, 2018 ) :The money supply in South Korea continued to grow at a fast pace in July due to a rise in corporate lending, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The country's M2 totaled 2,637.4 trillion won (US$2.34 trillion) in July, up 6.7 percent from a year earlier, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in a statement.

The 6.7 percent gain was the largest since January last year, according to the statement.

The growth rate of South Korea's M2 had been on a steady decline since April last year but made a turnaround after hitting a four-year low of 4.

6 percent in August last year. It has remained at the modestly high level of over 5 percent since the beginning of 2018.

From a month earlier, money supply edged up 0.5 percent in July, the BOK added. The central bank said increased corporate credit has led to a pickup in the money supply since the latter half of last year.

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.