The president could promptly end the production of new pennies, but phasing out the coin would take time and mean changes at retail stores, economists said.

President Trump ordered the U.S. Treasury to stop minting pennies, citing wastefulness. The price of producing a single penny continues to rise, and it now costs almost 3.7 cents to produce a penny, up from 3.

President Trump says he directed the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies. He says the cost of producing the one-cent coin is too high. Last year the U.S. Mint reported losing more than 85 million dollars on the nearly 3.