South Korea's money supply continued to grow quickly in November last year, as loans to households and firms increased amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The country's M2 stood at 3,178.4 trillion won ($2.9 trillion) as of end-November, up 0.9 percent, or 27.9 trillion won, from October, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

From a year earlier, M2 surged 9.7 percent, the BOK said.

A key economic indicator closely monitored by authorities, M2 is a measure of the money supply that counts cash, demand deposits and other near money that is easily convertible to cash.

The BOK said M2 kept rising at a fast pace in November as households and companies took out large bank loans to fight the pandemic.

Funds held by households and nonprofit organizations grew by 10 trillion won in November from the previous month, with those held by businesses rising by 15.8 trillion won.

South Korea's corporate earnings and household income have taken a big hit from the coronavirus pandemic that has sent consumer spending and exports, the country's twin growth engines, tumbling.

Last year, the BOK conducted two rate cuts in less than three months after the country confirmed its first coronavirus case, sending the policy rate to a record low of 0.5 percent. (Yonhap)