M2 Money Supply
M2 is the broad money supply — currency, checking and savings deposits, small CDs, and retail money-market funds — the slice of money readily available to spend. Published by the Federal Reserve, it is the most-cited monetary aggregate and a direct readout of the cumulative effect of Fed policy on liquidity.
After inflation: +2.2% (August 2026, year over year, CPI-adjusted)
M2 ($)
- YoY %
- 5.7%
Next release: Oct 27, 2026
Latest reading
As of August 2026, US M2 money supply is $23.3T — a record high in the series since 1959. The prior reading was $23.2T. After inflation, the M2 money supply rose 2.2% over the year to August 2026. The latest reading ($23.3T, August 2026) is a record in nominal dollars, but after inflation the record belongs to September 2021: $25.6T in August 2026 dollars, so the latest reading is 8.8% below it. Focus on the year-over-year growth rate rather than the absolute level. M2 exploded over 25% during the 2020-2021 stimulus — the fastest since WWII — then outright contracted in 2022-2023 for the first time since the 1930s. Monetarist theory ties sustained rapid M2 growth to inflation, but velocity matters: a large money stock that isn't circulating need not be inflationary. Series history runs from 1959 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessFederal Reserve via FRED (M2SL), monthly, seasonally adjusted · Monthly, with every releaseData as of 2026-08-01 · Open ↓Close ↑
Full history
Dollar level
Year-over-year growth %
The annual growth rate of M2 — where the cyclical signal lives. Shaded zones split expansion (green, above 0%) from outright contraction (red, below 0%): M2 surged past 25% in 2020-21, then went negative in 2022-23 for the first time since the 1930s.
SPY ÷ M2
SPY priced in the money supply — the month-end SPY price divided by M2 (scaled ×1000). A rising ratio means stocks are outrunning the liquidity behind them (the 2000 and 2021 extremes); a falling ratio means money is growing faster than the market.
Real M2 growth
M2 money supply growth after CPI inflation, against the same period a year earlier. Below zero, it lost ground to prices.
Deflated by CPI-U (BLS), matched by month; the latest months appear once CPI is published.
Real M2 (August 2026 dollars)
The M2 money supply restated in August 2026 dollars, so every past reading buys the same basket as today.
Deflated by CPI-U (BLS), matched by month; the latest months appear once CPI is published.
Methodology & data
M2 is sourced from Fed via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (Federal Reserve via FRED (M2SL), monthly, seasonally adjusted). We pull the complete history, chart it on a monthly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date. Latest observation 2026-08-01; site refreshed 2026-10-05. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
The Manual — M2 money supply
M2 stands at $23.3T in the August 2026 report, growing 5.7% a year against a 6.6% median since 1960 (about +2.2% after inflation). The full owner's guide covers what the Fed actually counts, the 41% pandemic surge, the only contraction in the series’ history, and the honest two-era answer to whether M2 growth predicts inflation — every number computed live.
Read The M2 Money Supply Manual →Frequently asked questions
What is the M2 Money Supply?
M2 is the broad money supply — currency, checking and savings deposits, small CDs, and retail money-market funds — the slice of money readily available to spend. Published by the Federal Reserve, it is the most-cited monetary aggregate and a direct readout of the cumulative effect of Fed policy on liquidity.
How do you read M2?
Focus on the year-over-year growth rate rather than the absolute level. M2 exploded over 25% during the 2020-2021 stimulus — the fastest since WWII — then outright contracted in 2022-2023 for the first time since the 1930s. Monetarist theory ties sustained rapid M2 growth to inflation, but velocity matters: a large money stock that isn't circulating need not be inflationary.
Where does the M2 data come from?
Federal Reserve via FRED (M2SL), monthly, seasonally adjusted. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/money-supply.csv.
How often is M2 updated?
M2 is a monthly series from Fed, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.
After inflation: +2.2% (August 2026, year over year, CPI-adjusted)
M2 ($)
- YoY %
- 5.7%
Next release: Oct 27, 2026