In a May 2023 Economic Synopses essay, Senior Economic Policy Advisor Christopher Neely discussed the unusual behavior of the year-over-year growth rate of M2 starting in February 2020. M2 is a broad measure of the money supply, which Neely explained includes currency and various relatively liquid bank and money market mutual fund deposits. “M2 grew at record rates during the COVID-19 pandemic from February 2020 through 2022 but has declined at record rates since late 2022,” he wrote. He also examined the behavior of inflation over this period, noting that inflation followed M2 growth on the way up and had been ... (full story)