SEOUL, March 13 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's money supply grew for the third straight month in January, central bank data showed Friday.
The seasonally-adjusted M2, called broad money, expanded 0.7 percent from a month earlier to 4,108.9 trillion won (2.77 trillion U.S. dollars) in January, after going up 0.1 percent in November and 0.5 percent in December last year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The M1, or narrow money, rose 1.3 percent in January on a monthly basis, faster than an increase of 0.4 percent in the previous month.
The M1 refers to currency in circulation, demand deposits and transferable savings deposits equivalent to cash. The M2 adds money market funds, time deposits and financial products that mature in less than two years.
The liquidity of financial institutions, called Lf, swelled 0.8 percent in the cited month, while the liquidity aggregate, the broadest measure of money supply, increased 0.3 percent.
The Lf includes financial products with a maturity of over two years and liquidity at insurers and brokerages along with M2. The liquidity aggregate adds state and corporate bonds to the Lf. ■