Money supply growth accelerates in Oct.: BOK

▲ In this file photo, an official checks banknotes at a Hana Bank branch in Seoul on July 17, 2024. (Yonhap)

money supply-tally

Money supply growth accelerates in Oct.: BOK

SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's money supply rose for the 17th consecutive month in October from a month earlier amid an extended monetary tightening mode, central bank data showed Monday.

The country's M2, a key gauge of the money supply, stood at 4,110.4 trillion won (US$2.86 trillion) in October, up 1 percent from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The figure has been on a constant increase since June 2023.

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

In an effort to tame inflation, the BOK delivered seven consecutive rate hikes from April 2022 to January 2023 and had kept the rate at 3.5 percent, the highest level in about 16 years, through October.

In a surprise move, the central bank last month cut its key rate by 25 basis points to 3 percent, a month after it reduced the rate by a quarter percentage point, marking its first pivot since August 2021, as well as the first rate reduction since May 2020.

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