How to Read the Fed's H.6 Money Stock Release — M1, M2, the Monetary Base and Method Changes
Fed H.6: seasonally adjusted M2 was $23,342.8 billion in August 2026, about 5.7% above a year earlier (calculated); reserve balances fell from $3,051.5 billion in July to $2,936.0 billion.
Key figures (Fed H.6 money stock measures, released September 22, 2026)
As of 25 October 2026 (KST); latest release: Money Stock Measures (H.6), released by the Federal Reserve Board on September 22, 2026, with monthly data through August 2026. The release page states the rule "These data are released on the fourth Tuesday of every month, generally at 1:00 p.m. Publication may be shifted to the next business day when the regular publication date falls on a federal holiday." It lists no future dates; by that rule the next release would fall on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 (this page's derivation). Primary sources: https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h6/current/default.htm and https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h6/h6_technical_qa.htm[1][4]
| Indicator (billions of dollars, monthly averages) | Previous (July 2026) | Current (August 2026) | Change vs previous | Change vs year ago (August 2025) | Evidence type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M2, seasonally adjusted | 23,217.9 | 23,342.8 | +124.9 (+0.54%) | +1,250.2 (+5.7%) from 22,092.6 | Issuer record (Federal Reserve Board); changes are this page's calculation |
| M1, seasonally adjusted | 19,886.5 | 19,991.1 | +104.6 | +1,150.3 (+6.1%) from 18,840.8 | Issuer record (Federal Reserve Board); changes are this page's calculation |
| Currency (M1 component), seasonally adjusted | 2,383.2 | 2,389.7 | +6.5 | +71.4 from 2,318.3 | Issuer record (Federal Reserve Board); changes are this page's calculation |
| Retail money market funds, seasonally adjusted | 3,052.8 | 3,073.9 | +21.1 | +163.7 from 2,910.2 | Issuer record (Federal Reserve Board); changes are this page's calculation |
| Small-denomination time deposits, seasonally adjusted | 1,506.4 | 1,505.6 | -0.8 | -21.2 from 1,526.8 | Issuer record (Federal Reserve Board); changes are this page's calculation |
| Reserve balances, not seasonally adjusted | 3,051.5 | 2,936.0 | -115.5 | -345.9 from 3,281.9 | Issuer record (Federal Reserve Board); changes are this page's calculation |
| Monetary base, not seasonally adjusted | 5,523.9 | 5,411.6 | -112.3 | -274.5 from 5,686.1 | Issuer record (Federal Reserve Board); changes are this page's calculation |
Comparison basis: monthly average levels as published, to one decimal; percentage changes are this page's calculations, because the release no longer publishes growth rates ("The H.6 statistical release will no longer contain growth rates of the monetary aggregates"). The Fed notes: "Components may not add to totals due to rounding." so sums of rounded components are approximate. All four documents are Federal Reserve Board publications and count as one issuer record.[1][3]
In three lines
1. M1 is currency, demand deposits and other liquid deposits; M2 adds small time deposits and retail money market funds and subtracts IRA and Keogh balances.
2. Seasonally adjusted M2 was $23,342.8 billion in August 2026, about 5.7% above a year earlier (this page's calculation), while reserve balances fell to $2,936.0 billion.
3. Since July 28, 2026, IRA and Keogh balances are subtracted from M2 as a whole, and the H.6 publishes levels, not growth rates.[1][2][3]
What M1, M2 and the monetary base are (in the Fed's words)
Two aggregates. "The H.6 release, published monthly, provides measures of the monetary aggregates (M1 and M2) and their components." "M1 and M2 are progressively more inclusive measures of money: M1 is included in M2. M1 consists of the most liquid forms of money, namely currency, demand deposits, and other liquid deposits." "The non-M1 components of M2 are small-denomination time deposits and retail money market funds."[2]
M2. "M2 consists of M1 plus (1) small-denomination time deposits (time deposits in amounts of less than $100,000) and (2) balances in retail money market funds (MMFs), less individual retirement account (IRA) and Keogh account balances at depository institutions and MMFs."[1]
Monetary base. "Monetary base equals currency in circulation plus reserve balances." "Reserve balances are balances held by depository institutions in master accounts and excess balance accounts at Federal Reserve Banks."[1]
Reserves. "Total reserves equal reserve balances plus, before April 2020, vault cash used to satisfy reserve requirements." Vault cash used to satisfy reserve requirements is now zero; in the Fed's words, total reserves are the sum of reserve balances and such vault cash, "the latter of which is zero with the elimination of reserve requirements that was effective on March 26, 2020." "Nonborrowed reserves equal total reserves less total borrowings from the Federal Reserve."[1][3]
Reading in pairs
Money held by the public vs central bank money. Seasonally adjusted M2 rose $124.9 billion in August 2026 while the monetary base fell $112.3 billion, mostly because reserve balances fell $115.5 billion (this page's calculations). M2 includes currency, demand deposits and other liquid deposits (M1), small-denomination time deposits and retail money market funds, less IRA and Keogh balances; the base is currency in circulation plus banks' reserve balances at the Fed.[1]
Seasonally adjusted vs not. August 2026 M2 was $23,342.8 billion seasonally adjusted and $23,284.3 billion not seasonally adjusted. "Seasonally adjusted M2 is constructed by summing small-denomination time deposits and retail MMFs, each seasonally adjusted separately, and adding the result to seasonally adjusted M1, and then subtracting not seasonally adjusted IRA and Keogh account balances at depository institutions and MMFs."[1]
Inside M2. Over the year to August 2026, retail money market funds rose $163.7 billion while small time deposits fell $21.2 billion (seasonally adjusted, this page's calculation).[1]
H.6 vs H.4.1. "The monetary base can also be derived by adding “Reserve balances with Federal Reserve Banks” and “Currency in circulation” from table 1 of the H.4.1 statistical release." The H.6 reports monthly averages: "Release items on the monthly H.6 statistical release will be presented as monthly average levels for the most recent 17 months."[3]
Comparing figures inside the release
Rebuilding M2. M1 ($19,991.1 billion) plus small time deposits ($1,505.6 billion) plus retail money market funds ($3,073.9 billion) less IRA and Keogh balances ($1,227.9 billion) gives 23,342.7, against the published 23,342.8; currency, demand deposits and other liquid deposits add to 19,991.2 against M1 of 19,991.1 (this page's observation; differences reflect rounding).[1]
Two currency figures. Currency in M1 excludes cash in bank vaults: "Currency consists of Federal Reserve notes and coin outside the U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve Banks, and the vaults of depository institutions." Currency in circulation does not: "Currency in circulation consists of Federal Reserve notes and coin outside the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Banks." In August 2026, currency in circulation ($2,475.6 billion) was $85.1 billion above not seasonally adjusted M1 currency ($2,390.5 billion) (this page's calculation).[1]
Estimated IRA and Keogh balances. The subtracted IRA and Keogh total is marked "e" (estimated) from April 2026 and stays at $1,227.9 billion through August 2026, so recent M2 levels rest partly on an estimate.[1]
Reserves and borrowing. Total reserves equal reserve balances ($2,936.0 billion); total borrowings are shown in millions ($5,501.1 million), and nonborrowed reserves are $2,930.5 billion.[1]
Method changes that affect comparisons
IRA and Keogh netting (July 2026). "Effective July 28, 2026, the Federal Reserve shifted from netting IRA and Keogh account balances at DIs at the component level to netting them at the aggregate M2 level." "When calculating M2, the Federal Reserve excludes deposits that are not liquid, such as IRAs that include large penalties for preretirement withdrawals." As a result, "total non-seasonally adjusted M2 remained unchanged, while seasonally adjusted M2 had minor revisions." "The revised netting methodology was applied retroactively to the beginning of each time series".[3]
Savings deposits moved into M1 (2020). "Recognizing savings deposits as a transaction account as of May 2020 will cause a series break in the M1 monetary aggregate." "Beginning with the May 2020 observation, M1 will increase by the size of the industry total of savings deposits, which amounted to approximately $11.2 trillion. M2 will remain unchanged." M1 before and after May 2020 is therefore not comparable.[3]
Verified facts
Each fact is labelled with its evidence typeEach fact in this section carries its evidence type — either cross-checked against independent sources, or confirmed from a single authoritative record.
Seasonally adjusted M2 was $23,342.8 billion in August 2026, up from $23,217.9 billion in July 2026; M1 was $19,991.1 billion.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Reserve balances averaged $2,936.0 billion in August 2026 and the monetary base $5,411.6 billion, both not seasonally adjusted.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Retail money market funds were $3,073.9 billion and small-denomination time deposits $1,505.6 billion in August 2026, seasonally adjusted.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Effective July 28, 2026, the Federal Reserve nets IRA and Keogh account balances from M2 as a whole rather than from its components, applied retroactively; not seasonally adjusted M2 was unchanged by the switch.[3] 1 source · authoritative record
Since May 2020 savings deposits are counted in M1 as other liquid deposits, a series break of approximately $11.2 trillion in M1 with no change to M2.[3] 1 source · authoritative record
H.6 data are released on the fourth Tuesday of every month, generally at 1:00 p.m.[4] 1 source · authoritative record
Statements and readings
Not counted as facts — each item shows what kind of statement it isFrom here on: statements not counted as facts — single-source reports, the issuing body’s own statements, and this page’s own readings, each labeled.
Seasonally adjusted M2 was about 5.7% higher in August 2026 than a year earlier ($23,342.8 billion vs $22,092.6 billion) and about 0.54% higher than in July 2026.[1] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's calculation from H.6 table 1
Reserve balances fell $345.9 billion over the year to August 2026, and the monetary base fell $274.5 billion, while M2 rose $1,250.2 billion.[1] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's calculation from H.6 table 1
Timeline
What this page could not establish
These are questions this page tried to answer and could not. The gaps are left open rather than filled with a guess.- Why did demand deposits rise and other liquid deposits fall by similar amounts in November 2025?
- How will the estimated IRA and Keogh balances be revised?
- Model
- claude-opus-5
- Time
- 10/25/2026, 00:33
- Body characters
- 8,164
- Sources
- 4 sources adopted
- Model
- ChatGPT (checked sources on the web)
- Time
- 10/25/2026, 00:35
- Verdict
- Revision required
Show revision history (3)
| 10/25/2026, 09:00 | First authored (claude-opus-5) | Created |
| 10/25/2026 | First version. Read in full the Federal Reserve Board's H.6 release of September 22, 2026 (all rows of tables 1 to 3 and their notes), the H.6 About page, the H.6 Technical Q&As and the H.6 release page; quotations and figures matched against the source text. | Updated |
| 10/25/2026 | Revised after review: the reserves paragraph now specifies that vault cash used to satisfy reserve requirements is zero; the comparison of M2 with the monetary base lists the components of each; the three-line summary also cites the Technical Q&As for the July 2026 method change; and the summary gives the July and August levels of reserve balances. | Updated |
Frequently asked
How large is the U.S. money supply (M2)?
$23,342.8 billion seasonally adjusted in August 2026, according to the Fed's H.6 release of September 22, 2026, the latest as of 25 October 2026.[1]
How fast is M2 growing?
About 5.7% over the year to August 2026 by this page's calculation from published levels; the H.6 itself no longer publishes growth rates.[1][3]
What is the difference between M1 and M2?
2 levels of inclusiveness: M1 is currency, demand deposits and other liquid deposits; M2 adds small-denomination time deposits and retail money market funds, less IRA and Keogh balances.[2]
Why did M1 jump in 2020?
$11.2 trillion of savings deposits were reclassified into M1 from May 2020, after the Fed removed the distinction between savings deposits and transaction accounts; M2 was unchanged.[3]
Is the monetary base the same as M2?
No: the base was $5,411.6 billion in August 2026 and equals currency in circulation plus banks' reserve balances at the Fed, while M2 adds up currency, deposits counted in M1, small time deposits and retail money market funds, less IRA and Keogh balances.[1]
When is the next H.6 release?
The fourth Tuesday of the month, generally at 1:00 p.m.; as of 25 October 2026 the release page lists no future dates, and by that rule the next one would be October 27, 2026 (this page's derivation).[4]
What changed in July 2026?
July 28, 2026: IRA and Keogh balances began to be subtracted from M2 as a whole rather than from small time deposits and retail money funds, so those components are now higher while not seasonally adjusted M2 is unchanged.[3]
Official links
Sources
- [1] Money Stock Measures - H.6, September 22, 2026 (current release) primary
- [2] Money Stock Measures - H.6: About primary
- [3] Money Stock Measures - H.6: Technical Q&As primary
- [4] Money Stock Measures - H.6: Release page and release dates primary