The US Mint is slowing down how many gold coins it makes because of the coronavirus pandemic

Michael Gottschalk/Getty

• The US Mint is slowing the production of gold and silver coins and limiting supply to authorized distributors — a sign that the pandemic is hampering the supply of physical money in the US.
• To lower the chances of employees contracting COVID-19, the bureau decided to slow production as a safety measure, according to Bloomberg.
• Last week, the Mint urged Americans to spend their coins or exchange them for currency to deal with the issue of short supply in the economy.
• Fearing market uncertainty, investors have piled into gold and silver investments, sending prices of both metals to record highs over the past few days.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

---

The US Mint is limiting the supply of gold and silver coins to third-party distributors as the coronavirus pandemic slows down production for the national manufacturer, according to a report from Bloomberg this week.

The Mint's New York-based facility is evaluating risks to employees to curb the spread of the virus, thereby slowing production for the next 12 to 18 months, Bloomberg said, citing internal documents.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: Why electric planes haven't taken off yet

See Also:

• Trump's top advisers are still pointing to signs of a 'V-shaped' economic recovery despite surging coronavirus cases
• The US's $600 unemployment boost expires today. Here's a list of 4 other programs set to end soon.
• States that reopened the earliest from pandemic-driven shutdowns saw no economic gains, study shows

SEE ALSO: Stocks now in 'the painful stage' before a more balanced bull market emerges, Morgan Stanley chief US equity strategist says

from Business Insider https://ift.tt/2P3IACE