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Japan's Monetary Base Contracts at Sharper Rate in July

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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 13.8% year over year in July, according to data from the Bank of Japan on Tuesday.

The pace of drop accelerated from the 13.7% contraction recorded in the previous month, and came in above the consensus market forecast of a 13.0% decrease tracked by Investing.com.

It also marks the sharpest pace of drop since March 2007, according to Trading Economics.

Of the total, banknotes in circulation fell at a faster rate of 1.9% versus 1.8% the previous month, while coins in circulation edged down 1.1%, unchanged from the 1.1% decline in June.

Current account balances slipped 16.6% in July, accelerating from the 16.4% drop in June. The pace of the drop in reserve balances also quickened to 15.3% in July from 14.6% the previous month.

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