Japan's most closely watched money supply gauge rose 2 percent in January from a year earlier, but the balance of quasi-money -- mostly in time deposits -- fell 12 percent, the Bank of Japan said Monday.
The pace of growth in the average daily balance of M2 -- cash in circulation, demand deposits and quasi-money -- plus certificates of deposit was the smallest since December 2000.
The balance came to 676.3 trillion yen, compared with a revised 675.9 trillion yen the previous month, the BOJ said.