Low price of the dollar in the informal market of Cuba

The dollar fell in price this Friday in informal sales in Cuba for the first time in the last two and a half months, in which it maintained a gradual but constant rise.

The US currency fell to 272 CUP, one peso less thanthe value it had reached on Tuesday, December 19 and which he maintained for three days.

It is the first time that the dollar has fallen in price since last September 5, the date on whichbegan a gradual price increase in the market after almost two weeks of persistent decline, which in the case of the US currency meant a sharp drop of 35 CUP in a few days.

The euro and the freely convertible currency (MLC), for their part, remain unchanged this December 22: 280 CUP in the case of the European currency and 250 CUP the virtual currency used on the island, according to the independent mediaelToque in the daily rate reported by the currency exchange rate on the island.

In the median values of the last 24 hours, offers for the euro at 280 pesos for both purchase and sale.

The MLC is also stable, whose median is 250 CUP in both acquisition and sale; while the dollar registers purchase offers at 270 CUP and up to 273 for sale.

The slight decrease in the dollar in the average sale in the informal market this Friday takes place after Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz announced on Wednesday thatas of JanuaryThe official dollar rate will be changed in Cuba, although he did not specify what the new value will be.

In his speech before the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP), Marrero did not miss the opportunity to criticize independent media that record movements in the currency exchange in the informal currency market on the island.

"We must put an end to the fact that a foreign country and a computer are projecting the exchange rate that will govern the country. Furthermore, this exchange rate is speculative and is taken as a reference to set all prices. abuses that today are at the national level," stressed the senior leader.

For several months the Cuban regime has been trying to blameThe touch to promote a high exchange rate and, consequently, inflation on the island.

In line with this conclusion, the Venezuelan economist Pasqualina Curcio, close to the regime, asserted that the Coin purchase and sale movements in the informal market are "fictitious" and that do not reflect the economic reality of Cuba. He estimated that it is a "political and economic manipulation of external forces, designed to destabilize governments not aligned with US foreign policy."

However, in a response articleelToque He called this statement "misleading" for simplifying the phenomenon.

"The emergence of the informal currency market and the evolution of the value of the Cuban peso against foreign currencies are a reflection of Cuba's economic crisis and government decisions. The crisis has multiple roots, including past and current policies," said the economist. Glenda Boza Ibarra.

"In the context of a deep economic crisis, characterized mainly by an acute shortage of foreign currency in the economy as a whole, the inevitable outcome is the depreciation of the national currency," added the aforementioned source.

The official exchange rate is around 123 pesos per dollar, but to buy 100 USD the population must queue through mobile applications.

So far in 2023, the Cuban peso has accumulated a depreciation of close to 50% against the dollar and the euro in the unofficial foreign exchange market, as revealed in an article published in recent days byelToque which analyzed the exchange rate swings of recent months.

Looking ahead to 2024, it is expected that, although "the macroeconomic factors that support the devaluation of the Cuban peso will remain,"it is likely that the pace or speed of depreciation will tend to moderate."

The reference rate ofelToque It is prepared after analyzing the purchase and sale advertisements published on social networks and classified websites. From this result, a price is established that is used to know the values of the main currencies that circulate in the country.