S. Korea's money supply rises in March on increase in short-term funds

SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's money supply continued to rise in March on an increase in short-term funds awaiting investment, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's M2, a key gauge of the money supply, stood at an average of 4,132.1 trillion won (US$2.76 trillion) in March, up 18.5 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure has been on a steady rise since November. M2 is a measure of the money supply that includes cash, demand deposits and other easily convertible financial instruments. The BOK attributed the March gain to increases in money market funds that mostly invest in short-term products amid a rally in the local stock market. By sector, liquidity increased by 34.9 trillion won among nonfinancial corporations and 1.6 trillion won among financial institutions, while liquidity held by households and nonprofit organizations fell by 13.1 trillion won, the data showed.