The amount of Bermuda dollar notes and coins in circulation over the holiday period is up on last year by 3.6 percent to $94.3 million.

According to the Bermuda Monetary Authority which releases figures at key spending seasons each year, this compares with a reported total of $91.4 million for the same period last year.

“Christmas is traditionally a period when the figure for notes and coins in circulation rises,” said the BMA in its Christmas money supply report.

“This seasonal peak is normally reversed very quickly after the holiday.”

The BMA said that the total amount of notes and coins it had issued to the banks between December 1 and December 21 was $4.4 million and compares with $8.8 million issued during the same period last year.