A pause in the accelerated race of currencies in Cuba.

The currencies take a breather halfway.

Current events
CiberCuba's editorial team

10/06/2024 - 7:13am (GMT-5)

After five days of a rapid increase in the average selling price of currencies in the Cuban informal market, this Monday, the dollar, euro, and MLC remain unchanged.

At seven in the morning on June 10, the dollar remains pegged at 390 CUP, just five pesos away from its historical record.

The euro has also remained stable in the last hours, valued at 400 pesos, just 2.5 away from the maximum value it has reached in the elToque rate.

In the case of the Freely Convertible Currency, after the increase that this Sunday led it to surpass the threshold of 300 CUP for the first time and reach 310 pesos, today it also takes a breather.

Since May 16, when currencies began to fall after months of sustained growth, only one day, June 4, had seen currencies have a day like today: unchanged.

The volatility in the informal Cuban currency market in recent weeks has once again confirmed the drift of the Cuban economy, as well as the uncertainty of citizens about the possible direction of events and the growing gap in their pockets.

Exchange rate today 10/06/2024 - 7:10 a.m. in Cuba:

Exchange rate of the USD to CUP according to elTOQUE: 390 CUP.

Euro exchange rate EUR to CUP according to elTOQUE: 400 CUP.

Exchange rate from MLC to CUP according to elTOQUE: 310 CUP.

Alternative exchange rate from other platforms:

Dollar exchange rate (USD): Buy 373 CUP, Sell 393 CUP.

Euro (EUR) exchange rate: Buy 388 CUP, Sell 401 CUP.

MLC exchange rate: Purchase 304 CUP, Sale 307 CUP. The informal exchange rate of Cuba offered here is not officially recognized or endorsed by any financial or governmental entity.

And what is the Cuban government doing in the meantime? Nothing.

Neither the new Minister of Economy nor other authorities on the island have publicly commented, neither on the sharp drop in the price of currencies in the second half of May, nor now on the rapid rise of buying and selling values.

Movement has indeed been perceived on social media, where numerous SMEs have started a war against elToque.

In that context, last Friday the independent media announced that it has reinforced controls to calculate the representative rate due to the growing suspicion of attempts to inflate or plummet values with false announcements.

The independent media referred to a campaign by "government actors associated with State Security and with propagandistic spokespeople of the Communist Party" who since April have tried to discredit that media outlet and the methodology they use to calculate the rate.

Campaign to which -they pointed out- "private sector actors have joined who claim to have the capability to coordinate to promote the appreciation of the Cuban peso."

ElToque said to have "evidence of actions aimed at flooding virtual spaces for currency exchange with false offers in order to influence the algorithm they use to calculate the rate."

The independent media outlet states that from the beginning they have been "transparent" and that they are aware of the limitations of their method, limitations that are mainly due to not knowing which of the documented buying and selling ads end up materializing. Nevertheless, they argue that the calculated rate reflects the central movements of the informal market, although they admit that "it is a speculative market by nature."

Neither the informal exchange market nor a service that makes it visible are the cause of the problems, in any case, they are a reflection of the imbalances and inflation affecting the Cuban economy. The solution lies in the hands of the State and those governing the country, who are the only ones with the institutional capacity to implement economic-fiscal and monetary policies in the form of a macroeconomic stabilization program that includes structural reforms," they concluded.