PETALING JAYA: Businesses and consumers remain wary of the economic outlook, judging from the money supply gauges of M3, also known as broad money, and M1, a narrower definition, used to measure the amount of money circulating in the economy. What is interesting to note is that M3 has shrunk by more than 86% over a span of four years.
Data released by Bank Negara on the monetary and financial developments for January showed that M3, the most inclusive definition of money supply, was lower compared to the same month last year. The growth in M3 for January was even weaker than for December, when it grew by 2.7% and this has been weakening since last October.