WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Data released by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday showed that its M2 money stock increased for the week ending Jan. 13, 2020.

The Federal Reserve building is pictured in Washington, DC, U.S., August 22, 2018. (Photo: VCG)

M2, the broad money supply, rose to 15.397 trillion U.S. dollars from the previous week's 15.3507 trillion dollars, while M1, the narrow money supply, also increased from 3.9495 trillion dollars to 3.9515 trillion dollars in the same period.

M1 is commonly known as a measure of money supply, which includes cash and checking deposits. M2, the most critical indicator of money supply and inflation, includes all elements of M1 as well as savings deposits, money market securities, mutual funds, and other time deposits.

In September 2019, a quick surge of money demand emerged in the U.S. money market, sending the interest rates in the U.S. money market to nearly 10 percent. In order to stabilize money supply, the Fed had been pumping money into the market since September by providing repurchase agreements and buying securities.