Germany to Retain Small Coins -- For Now

Germany's government and the Bundesbank, its central bank, denied claims Tuesday the country is planning to do away with one and two cent euro coins. But the Bundesbank is examining the matter, according to a spokesman. The authorities were responding to a report in the Handelsblatt newspaper on Tuesday that the bank's currency chief, Wolfgang Söffner, said in the future prices could be rounded off to make the coins superfluous. He added that higher steel prices had made production of the coins more expensive than their actual value and that transport and processing costs for them were high. But the Finance Ministry, not the Bundesbank, has the final say on whether the coins will be abolished. However, the ministry is not yet examining the issue, a spokesman told reporters. The Netherlands plans to phase out one and two cent euro coins starting in September.