US President Donald Trump has announced a plan to stop minting one-cent coins, citing high production costs.

Trump said in a social media post on Sunday that he instructed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to stop producing new pennies. Valued at 0.01 dollars, the penny is the smallest denomination of the US currency.

The president wrote: "For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!"

He added, "Let's rip the waste out of our great nations budget, even if it's a penny at a time."

The newly-created Department of Government Efficiency also said last month that "the penny costs over 3 cents to make" and puts a financial burden on US taxpayers.

The department, led by entrepreneur Elon Musk, is tasked with coming up with ways to cut government spending.