Our Privacy Statment & Cookie Policy

All LSEG websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.

April 29, 2022

News in Charts: The rise of hoarding

by Fathom Consulting.

The use of cash as a medium of exchange is in long-term decline in most countries. Consumers have increasingly switched to electronic payments and online shopping, trends that have only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic — leading some to suggest that the virus may prove the final nail in the coffin for banknotes. Sweden is often highlighted as a harbinger of the future, where currency in circulation has fallen sharply and even many banks no longer hold cash.[1]

Interestingly, however, over recent decades the amount of cash in circulation as a share of GDP has not been falling but has increased quite sharply in a number of countries (first chart below). This is consistent with a decline in the velocity at which cash is circulating. The last couple of years have seen particularly large gains in the amount of cash in circulation — and the phenomenon has been quite a general one across both developed and emerging economies (second chart below). In 2020, the average increase in cash in circulation across the globe was around 16%, roughly double the prior five-year average. In the BRICS, the gain in currency in circulation was 20% in 2020, almost triple the five-year average rise of 7.5%, although in 2021 the average gain decelerated to just 3%.

Refresh this chart in your browser | Edit the chart in Datastream

IN HOUSE

It is surprising to note how much cash is circulating per head in the major economies. In the UK it was around $1930 in 2021, in the euro area $4860 and in the US around $6410, while in Japan it was around $8790 (the long period of zero interest rates and low and negative inflation in Japan has significantly reduced the opportunity costs of holding cash). Of course, this does not necessarily mean that every individual has cash holdings: hoarding may be more prevalent in specific sections of the population. Cash is also extensively used as a medium of exchange in the underground economy, for its anonymity. Moreover, estimates suggest that over half of the US greenbacks in circulation and around 30-50% of euros are held abroad.[2]

 

Refresh this chart in your browser | Edit the chart in Datastream

Want more charts and analysis? Access a pre-built library of charts built by Fathom Consulting via Datastream Chartbook in Refinitiv Eikon.

The huge upsurge in demand for cash over the last couple of years has been driven by the pandemic, one of the largest public health and macroeconomic shocks of the past century. This is normal: people typically do hoard large amounts of cash when there are financial panics or major geopolitical events. The fact that most of the increase in cash in circulation was in the highest denomination notes lends further support to the view that hoarding was the main driver. The value of the US dollar notes in circulation is up by about 25% since the beginning of 2020: around 80% of the rise was accounted for by $100 bills. Some of the rise in demand for US dollars also reflects people hoarding it overseas.[3]

As ever, there are additional country-specific factors at play. Some of the largest gains in cash in circulation occurred in Argentina and Turkey, where worsening economic problems and fears about the banking system may have driven citizens to hoard more cash — although surging inflation has meant that it proved a poor store of value. Chile, often seen as a Latin American success story, has also experienced a large increase in cash in circulation at a time when political and economic uncertainty have risen.

Refresh this chart in your browser | Edit the chart in Datastream

Over the next few years the ongoing shift to electronic payments should continue to reduce the use of cash as a medium of exchange in the formal economy. Forecasting hoarding is difficult, given that it is often driven by major unexpected events, but there is some reason to think that the hoarders could be in retreat. Indeed, rising interest rates, which increase the opportunity cost of holding cash, may reduce its allure. It is perhaps no surprise that cash in circulation slowed sharply in the BRICS in 2021, when the Brazilian and Russian central banks hiked interest rates aggressively. Nevertheless, cash will continue to be a payment method of choice in the underground economy because of its anonymity.

[1] see Money Money Money – Fathom Consulting (fathom-consulting.com)

[2] For the US, see EconPapers: The Death of Cash? Not So Fast: Demand for U.S. Currency at Home and Abroad, 1990-2016 (repec.org), for the euro area, see The paradox of banknotes: Understanding the demand for cash beyond transactional use (europa.eu)

[3] For a detailed analysis of the surge in cash holdings during the pandemic, see Centre for Economic Policy Research (cepr.org)

Join a growing community of asset managers and stay up to date with the latest research from Refinitiv and partners to help you inform your investment decisions. Follow our Asset Management LinkedIn showcase page.

_________________________________________________________________

Refinitiv Datastream

Financial time series database which allows you to identify and examine trends, generate and test ideas and develop view points on the market.

Refinitiv offers the world’s most comprehensive historical database for numerical macroeconomic and cross-asset financial data which started in the 1950s and has grown into an indispensable resource for financial professionals. Find out more.

Get In Touch

Subscribe

We have updated our Privacy Statement. Before you continue, please read our new Privacy Statement and familiarize yourself with the terms.x