Economics
ECB Sees Steepest Demand for Cash Since October 2008
- Jump comes amid widening shutdown of the euro-area economy
- ECB asset purchases, liquidity increase in response to crisis
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The amount of cash circulating in the euro area increased last week by the most since October 2008, in the latest sign that the coronavirus pandemic has sparked the biggest economic crunch at least since the global financial crisis.
Cash jumped by by almost 19 billion euros ($20 billion), according to European Central Bank data. The ECB’s total balance sheet expanded by 223 billion euros as massive liquidity injections added to assets.