Society

Japan's cash in circulation hits record for 11th straight month

Feb 09 (channelnewsasia.com) - The total amount of money circulating in Japan hit a fresh record for the 11th straight month in January, data showed on Wednesday (Feb 9), as huge monetary stimulus and government spending to combat the COVID-19 pandemic work their way through the economy.

But the annual pace of increase slowed to the lowest since April 2020 due to the base effect of a sharp jump in deposits last year, when households and firms hoarded cash to cope with curbs on economic activity to combat the pandemic.

Japan's M3 money supply, a broad measurement of the amount of money available in the economy, rose 3.3 per cent in January from a year earlier, Bank of Japan (BOJ) data showed, slowing from a 3.4 per cent gain in December.

The total balance extended a record high at Y1,534.5 trillion (US$13.29 trillion), which is roughly triple the size of Japan's economy, the data showed.

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