Japan Monetary Base Slumps 9.5% In January

(RTTNews) - The monetary base in Japan was down 9.5 percent on year in January, the Bank of Japan said on Tuesday - coming in at 589.403 trillion yen.

That beat expectations for a decline of 10.2 percent following the upwardly revised 9.7 percent drop in December (originally -9.8 percent).

Banknotes in circulation dropped 2.8 percent on year, while coins in circulation fell 1.3 percent. Current account balances tumbled 11.1 percent, including a 9.7 percent drop in reserve balances.

The adjusted monetary base fell 9.0 percent on year to 598.209 trillion yen.