Americans face new coranavirus challenge: a shortage of coins

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Banks across the United States are facing a shortage of coins during coronavirus crisis, prompting the US Federal Reserve to ration distribution and work with the US Mint to boost supply, Reuters reports.

With the partial closure of the economy due to the coronavirus crisis, “the flow of coins through the economy has kind of stopped,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told the House Financial Services Committee.

Making matters worse, the US Mint has decreased production of coin due to measures put in place to protect its employees.

“We are working with the Mint and the Reserve Banks and as the economy reopens we are seeing coins beginning to move around again,” Powell said.

He made the remarks in response to a question from Tennessee Congressman John Rose, who said a bank in his district told him it would run out of coins by the end of the week because the Fed was only sending a portion of its usual order of coins.

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