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Japan's June Monetary Base Contracts at Sharpest Since 2007

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Japan's monetary base, which reflects the total volume of currency in circulation and current account deposits held at the central bank, fell 13.7% year over year in June, according to data from the Bank of Japan on Thursday.

The pace of drop accelerated from the 12.2% contraction recorded the previous month, marking the worst performance since March 2007. It also outpaced consensus market forecast for a 10% decline, as tracked by Investing.com.

Of the total, banknotes in circulation fell at a faster rate of 1.8% versus 1.7% the previous month, while coins in circulation edged down 1.1%, unchanged from the pace in May and April.

Current account balances tumbled 16.4% in June, faster than the 14.7% drop in May. The pace of decline in reserve balances also quickened to 14.6% in June from 12.7% in May.

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