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Money supply rises in Japan

TOKYO: Japan's key money supply index in December rose 2.6 percent year-onyear, after growing a revised 2.9 percent during the previous month, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) said on Tuesday.

The index includes the M2 money supply measure Ñ covering cash in circulation, ordinary bank deposits and non-negotiable time deposits Ñ plus certificates of deposits.

In the month, concerns about the millennium bug computer problem pushed deposit money growth down as consumers increased their withdrawals, while raising the level of growth of currency in circulation, a bank official said.

Growth in deposit money in December saw a rise of 13.8 percent after growing 14.4 percent in November, while currency in circulation gained 6.9 percent against 5.4 percent the previous month.

Certificates of deposit dropped 24.8 percent after falling a revised 32.2 percent in November, the central bank said.

The narrowest measure of money supply, M1, increased 12.1 percent after rising a revised 12.2 percent in November, it said.

For the three months to December, key money supply rose 3.0 compared with a 3.6 percent rise in the quarter to September. In the whole 1999, it rose 3.6 percent against a 4.0 percent increase in 1998. AFP