Japanese Monetary Base expands far less than expected in May, growing 0.9% versus 2.2% forecasts

Japan's Monetary Base, or the amount of currency being supplied by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) as measured by combining all notes and coins in circulation in addition to current account balances, eased to 0.9% for the year ended in May as Japanese markets struggle to find uses for additional cash supplied by the BoJ. Investors broadly expected May's annualized Monetary Base to expand by 2.2% YoY, a slight uptick from the previous period's 2.1%.

Market reaction

USD/JPY is battling the 156.00 handle in the early hours of the Pacific market session. The pair is down from the week's early bids near 157.40 and testing into near-term lows as the Greenback falls in a broad-market recovery in risk appetite.

USD/JPY hourly chart

About Japanese Monetary Base

The Monetary Base released by the Bank of Japan is the "Currency Supplied by the BoJ" including all the JPY in circulation, encompassing notes and coins as well as money held in bank accounts. It is considered as an important indicator of inflation, as monetary expansion adds pressure to the exchange rates. An acceleration of monetary base is considered as positive for the JPY, whereas a decline is seen as negative.