Japan's most closely watched money supply gauge rose only 1.4 percent in April from a year earlier for the lowest growth in 9 1/2 years, while the balance of quasi-money, mostly in time deposits, fell 1.6 percent, the Bank of Japan said Friday in a preliminary report.
The average daily balance of M2 -- cash in circulation, demand deposits and quasi-money -- plus certificates of deposit, came to 680.4 trillion yen, up from a revised 674.5 trillion yen in March, the central bank said.
But the pace of year-to-year growth slowed from a revised 1.7 percent in March. A growth-level of 1.4 percent was last seen in December 1993.
The slowing growth in money supply reflects the slumping economy, continued weakness in corporate demand for funds and banks' increasing reluctance to lend, with many of their outstanding loans nonperforming, financial analysts said.
The balance of quasi-money totaled 315.6 trillion yen in April, with the year-on-year decrease slowing from a 7.9 percent plunge in March.
Quasi-money refers to time deposits and other types of savings at banks that cannot be immediately cashed, including foreign-currency deposits and nonresidents' yen deposits.
A breakdown of the data shows that cash in circulation increased 6.2 percent to 67 trillion yen in April, following another 6.2 percent gain in March, and that demand deposits -- ordinary deposits and checking accounts -- rose 4.4 percent to 280.5 trillion yen, following a revised 16.7 percent jump in March.