Korea's money supply rose in April from the previous month as more money was deposited in short term savings accounts, the central bank said Thursday.
The country's M2, a narrow measure of the money supply, reached a seasonally adjusted 1,778.3 trillion won ($1.52 trillion) in April, up 0.6 percent from 1,768.5 trillion won for the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with a year earlier, the M2 expanded 5.5 percent in the month.
In January, the central bank began releasing seasonally adjusted figures on money supply data using month-on-month comparisons in order to better gauge the short-term economic situation.
M2 covers currency in circulation and all types of deposits with a maturity of less than two years at lenders and non-banking financial institutions, excluding those held by insurers and brokerage houses.
"There was a rise in funds going into short term savings deposits with maturity of less than two years as people sought safer means to invest their money in the face of mounting eurozone concerns," the BOK said in a statement.
Liquidity provided by local financial institutions rose 0.7 percent in April from a month earlier to 2,356.8 trillion won, and gained 8.6 percent on-year.
Growth of South Korea's liquidity aggregate, the broadest measure of the money supply, edged up 0.2 percent on-month in the fourth month of this year to 3,067.3 trillion won, the central bank said. The liquidity aggregate covers currency in circulation and all types of deposits at financial institutions and state and corporate bonds.
The BOK, meanwhile, expects economic growth to reach 3.5 percent in 2012, down slightly from 3.6 percent growth tallied a year earlier.
The central bank has kept the key interest rate unchanged at 3.25 percent for the 11th straight month as of last month as global economic uncertainties exert negative influence on growth. (Yonhap)