According to data from the National Bank of Hungary (MNB), the value of banknotes in circulation was HUF 7.171 tln, amounting to 591.6 million notes at the end of March. This is an increase of 9.12% in value and 6.63% in volume compared to the same period last year.

MNB estimates that the strong increase in the stock of cash was a consequence of demand shock in the first wave of the coronavirus epidemic in March last year. However, this is only partially supported by domestic cash flow data.