SEOUL, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Money supply in South Korea kept growing in April on the near-record-low interest rate, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The M2, called broad money, gained 6.6 percent in April from a year earlier, after rising 6.8 percent in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a month ago, the seasonally-adjusted figure added 0.5 percent.
The continued growth came as the BOK left its benchmark interest rate at a near-record-low level for a protracted period of time.
The central bank raised the policy rate by 25 basis points to the current 1.75 percent in November last year, after lifting it to 1.50 percent from an all-time low of 1.25 percent in the same month a year earlier.
The M1, dubbed narrow money, grew 3.0 percent in April from a year earlier.
The M1 refers to the currency in circulation, demand deposit, transferable savings deposit equivalent to cash. The M2 adds money market fund, time deposit and financial products that mature in less than two years to M1.
The liquidity of financial institutions, called Lf, expanded 7.7 percent in the cited period. The year-over-year increase of liquidity aggregate, the broadest measure of money supply, was 6.9 percent.
The Lf includes financial products with a maturity of more than two years and liquidity at insurers and brokerages along with M2. The liquidity aggregate adds state and corporate bonds to the Lf. Enditem
