The coronavirus has impacted numerous industries since March, and now has cut the supply to another major item in the United States; coins. According to the Federal Reserve, there is currently a shortage in coins, as the COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted the supply chain. Banks were reportedly notified recently they would not be getting their normal order of coins.
There’s a nationwide shortage of coins because of the pandemic – CNN everyone turn in your coins please I cannot with this https://t.co/YBvuU1dsEX
— Justin Ramirez (@JustinRamirez) June 19, 2020
First it was masks and hand sanitizer, then toilet paper, and now another extremely useful item is quickly running out of supply. “What’s happened is that, with the partial closure of the economy, the flow of coins through the economy has gotten all — it’s kind of stopped,” said Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. As banks and businesses change their normal operations, it has led to less coins being put into circulation.
The Federal Reserve is now working with the Mint to produce more coins and lift supply constraints. “We recognize that these measures alone will not be enough to resolve near‐term issues,” said the Reserve Banks. Hopefully this is issue is solved and another useful shortage isn’t around the corner.
Via CNN