In December, Japan's monetary base declined by 1.0% year-on-year, amounting to 658.524 trillion yen, as reported by the Bank of Japan on Tuesday. This decline surpassed expectations, which had anticipated a 0.2% yearly decrease, following a downward revision of November’s contraction from an initial 0.1% to 0.3%.
Examining the components, banknotes in circulation reduced by 0.6%, coins by 1.4%, and current account balances decreased by 1.2%, though this included a 2.2% rise in reserve balances. The adjusted monetary base showed a more pronounced annual drop of 5.8%, totaling 674.471 trillion yen.
For the fourth quarter of 2024, the overall monetary base decreased by 0.5% year-on-year. Despite this quarterly decline, the full year of 2024 saw a monetary base growth of 1.0%.
