Japan's monetary base rises 15.9 pct in Aug.

The average daily balance of the monetary base stood at 114.044 trillion yen (1.48 trillion U.S. dollars) in the recording period, compared to an average balance of 113.73 trillion yen logged in the previous month, the central bank said.

The BOJ has made sure that since the March 11 twin disasters that pummeled northeastern regions in Japan, there is enough liquidity in money markets so that regional banks and other financial institutions can continue lending not just to the public and local municipalities for reconstruction efforts, but also to each other.

The endeavor has gone some way towards calming money markets in the wake of the March cataclysms, although the recent yen's surge against its major counterparts has led to two forays into currency markets by the Japanese government to stem the yen's rise.

Further intervention hasn't been ruled out by former Finance Minister and current Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, a fiscal hawk, who has said wholesale initiatives will be undertaken to balance what he has described as "one sided" currency moves.

The central bank said Friday that banknotes in circulation in the recording period gained 2.7 percent on year for the third straight month and the amount of coins in circulation remaining flat for the 2nd straight month, following a 0.1 percent increase booked in May; Kazinform cites Xinhua.

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