Korea's M2 money supply grows most in over 4 years

South Korea's M2 money supply expanded at the fastest pace in more than four years in November on a rise in household debt and continued current surplus streak, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The M2 jumped 8.3 percent on-year to 2,079.3 trillion won ($1,929.6 billion) in November, quickening from a 7.5 percent rise in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The on-year growth is the fastest since August 2010 when the M2 expanded 8.7 percent.

From a month earlier, the country's M2 rose 1.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, also picking up from a 0.8 percent growth in October.

M2 includes currency in circulation, as well as types of deposits with a maturity of less than two years at lenders and non-banking financial institutions. It does not cover those with a maturity of two years or longer, government bonds or corporate bonds.

In a separate statement, the central bank forecast M2 to have increased in the mid-8 percent range in December. (Yonhap)