Japan's monetary base leaps 26.3 pct on year in April to record high

Japan's monetary base climbed 26.3 percent on year in April marking the fifth successive month of increase as the the Bank of Japan's (BOJ) easing measures have provided more liquidity in the market, the BOJ said in a report on Friday.

According to the central bank, the monetary base at the end of April rose to a record 386.19 trillion yen (3.59 trillion U.S. dollars) as a result of the bank's aggressive quantitative easing measures unleashed to tackle the nation's decades of deflationary pressure.

As well as plunging its interest rate into negative territory, in an unprecedented move by the central bank here as a means to drive funds back into the market, the bank has also maintained its commitment to increasing the monetary base at an annual rate of around 80 trillion yen.

The BOJ said Friday the balance of financial institutions' current account deposits, which comprises the largest component of the central bank's monetary base, climbed 35.3 percent in the recording period to 284.41 trillion yen.

The BOJ also noted that banknotes in circulation increased 6.6 percent on year, with that of coins up 0.9 percent.

Current account balances, the BOJ's data showed, leapt 36.1 percent, with reserve balances jumping 34 percent in the recording period.

On an adjusted basis the monetary base increased by 8.2 percent to 374.09 trillion yen. Endit