Japan's monetary base hits record high

Japan's monetary base surged 42.7 percent in July from a year earlier to JPY 243.11 trillion (USD 2.37 trillion), marking an all-time high for the 17th straight month, the central bank said Monday.
The monetary base, which comprises money supplied to the markets by the Bank of Japan (BOJ), including cash in circulation and commercial banks' deposits held at the BOJ's current accounts, also grew for the 27th month in a row. An expansion in the monetary base has inflationary effect.
In April last year, the BOJ introduced drastic measures to double the monetary base, pumping huge amounts of money into financial markets to boost the economy.
It aims to increase the monetary base at an annual pace of about JPY 60-70 trillion (USD 580-682 billion), hoping the measure will help firms expand business operations. The monetary base is projected to rise to JPY 270 trillion (USD 2.63 trillion) at the end of this year if the central bank conducts its monetary operations as planned.
The BOJ board decided last month to maintain its massive monetary easing program and continue to conduct money market operations.