Money supply continues to rise in Sept. on short-term deposits

SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's money supply continued to rise in September from a month earlier, driven by increases in short-term deposits and money trusts, central bank data showed Friday.

The country's M2, a key gauge of the money supply, stood at an average of 4,283.9 trillion won (US$3.2 trillion) in September, up 0.4 percent, or 17.1 trillion won, from a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The figure has risen steadily since November last year.

The M2 is a measure of the money supply that includes cash, demand deposits and other easily convertible financial instruments.

The BOK said short-term deposits and money trusts with maturities of less than two years increased in September.

By sector, liquidity held by households and nonprofit organizations rose by 12.6 trillion won, while liquidity held by financial institutions also moved up by 5.2 trillion won.

Liquidity held by nonfinancial corporations, however, decreased by 3.3 trillion won, the latest data showed.

brk@yna.co.kr
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