SEOUL, July 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's money supply grew for a seventh straight month amid lingering inflationary pressure, central bank data showed Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted M2, called broad money, rose 0.8 percent from a month earlier to 4,184.4 trillion won (2.81 trillion U.S. dollars) in May, keeping an upward trend since November 2025, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Inflationary pressure remained due to the Middle East conflicts, raising expectations for the BOK's interest rate hikes in the second half of this year.

The M1, or narrow money, mounted 1.9 percent in May on a monthly basis, faster than an expansion of 0.5 percent in the previous month.

The M1 refers to currency in circulation, demand deposits and transferable savings deposits equivalent to cash. The M2 adds money market funds, time deposits and financial products that mature in less than two years.

The liquidity of financial institutions, called Lf, swelled 1.4 percent in the cited month, while the liquidity aggregate, the broadest measure of money supply, climbed 1.1 percent.

The Lf includes financial products with a maturity of over two years and liquidity at insurers and brokerages along with M2. The liquidity aggregate adds state and corporate bonds to the Lf.