Amazon.com Inc said it has suspended thousands of seller accounts for price gouging during the coronavirus pandemic.

The operator of the largest US online marketplace said it has pulled well over half a million offers and suspended more than 3,900 selling accounts in the US for violating its fair pricing policies.

Amazon said it deployed a dedicated team to identify and investigate "unfairly priced” products that are in high demand, such as protective masks and hand sanitiser.

"We are also proactively sharing information with state attorneys general and federal regulators about sellers we suspect have engaged in egregious price gouging of products related to the Covid-19 crisis,” the company said in a statement Monday.

Since the coronavirus outbreak escalated in the US, there have been runs on hand sanitiser, toilet paper, bleach wipes, meat and canned soup, among other products. Some people have attempted to sell cleaning products and other supplies at inflated prices on Amazon, EBay Inc. and other sites.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to prevent hoarding and price increases of supplies.

 - Bloomberg