SEOUL, March 17 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's money supply grew for the 20th successive month due to robust demand for deposits and money trusts, central bank data showed Monday.

The seasonally-adjusted M2, or broad money, gained 0.5 percent to 4,203.8 trillion won (2.9 trillion U.S. dollars) in January compared to the previous month, continuing to rise since June 2023, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The continued growth was attributed to solid demand for transferable savings deposits, money trusts with maturity of less than two years, profit-sharing securities, and monetary financial products.

The M1, or narrow money, added 0.6 percent in January on a monthly basis, keeping an upward trend for the sixth straight month.

The BOK cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.75 percent in February after slashing it by the same percentage point in October and November last year.

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 0.4 percent in the cited month, while the liquidity aggregate, the broadest measure of money supply, climbed 0.8 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. Enditem

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