Over the past several weeks there has been growing suspicion about the perceived lack of coins in circulation. Members of the public have complained that it’s become more difficult to make transactions in cash due to not having, or receiving, exact change. News outlets have investigated these claims and have concluded that there is a coin shortage in the United States. Stipulation finds these reports verified and UNBIASED.
Context
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to plague the United States, its deep impact is becoming more defined. Particularly, more notice is being given to how the pandemic is effecting daily purchases and transactions.
When local governments mandated shelter-in-place/lockdown orders in mid-March, cascading outcomes followed. Non-essential activity was highly restricted and many of the common functions of society were limited. Day-to-day commerce, in particular, was massively altered – which continues to this day.
As restaurants, retail stores, sports venues, banks storefronts, and other non-essential spaces closed down, so did conventional face-to-face transactions. Moreover, with more people at home, online transactions with exact payments increased substantially. This, according to Federal Reserve’s Board Chairman Jerome Powell, is what is leading to the nationwide shortage of coins.
Federal Reserves Chair Testifies
Last June, the head of the Fed testified in front of the House Financial Service Committee. In that hearing, Powell stated that the Federal Reserve was aware of the problem, but anticipated it to be temporary. “The places where you go to give your coins, and get credits in store, and get cash, folding money… Those have not been working. Stores have been closed. The whole system of flow had come to a stop… We’re working with the Reserve Banks to get that supply where it needs to be. [The Federal Reserve] thinks it’s a temporary situation,” Powell said in the virtual hearing.
While the United States’ recovery from the coronavirus is still uncertain, there are signs that the coin shortage is coming to an end. For instance, the Federal Reserves is injecting the economy with newly printed money. This includes the Mint producing more coins for distribution. Additionally, cities are slowly opening up their localities for business. With more stores and banks open, more face-to-face transactions will occur. As a result, more coins will be moving through common channels of transactions. Again, if the coronavirus remains a hindrance on economic activity, the US could continue to face coin circulation issues.
Who Reported It?
After a preliminary search, we found this problem to only effect the United States. As a result, outlets covering this story have a domestic focus. Below is a short list of news outlets carrying this story:
Is The Report Biased?
Because this report was based off perceptions from everyday Americans, and then verified by the Federal Reserve, we did not anticipate political bias. Our biased detection process validated our expectations. Overall, reports that addressed questions of “Is there a coin shortage?” were UNBIASED. While some outlets did not cover this story, we still think it is important to note the universal acceptance of said report. This report received an ABS of 71.906. A score this high indicates extremely low bias.