Sharp decline in the price of dollars, euros, and MLC in street-side buying and selling in Cuba.

Although at a slow pace, far from the abrupt drops of 20 and even 30 pesos in a day, the trend indicates a steep decline in the informal selling values of currencies in Cuba.

Current Affairs
CiberCuba Editorial Team

19/07/2024 - 7:58am (GMT-5) |

Cargando — Dollars and euros (Reference image)Photo © Freepik

Dólares y euros (Imagen de referencia) © Freepik — Dollars and euros (Reference image)Photo © Freepik

The three reference currencies in the Cuban informal market registered a decline in their value this Friday in the average sale, as documented by the independent medium elToque based on announcements on social media and other classified sites.

In the last few hours, the dollar, the euro, and the Freely Convertible Currency (MLC) have all seen a decrease of five pesos compared to their values from the previous day.

Although at a slow pace and far from the abrupt drops of 20 and even 30 pesos in a single day recorded in the second half of May and the beginning of June, the three currencies are plummeting.

At 7:00 a.m. (local time) on this July 19, the dollar was valued at 300 CUP.

The euro falls to 315 CUP and Convertible Currency to 270.

For the moment, the reaction to the wave of economic measures announced by the Cuban government in recent days is a decrease in the informal values of the buying and selling of reference currencies on the street level.

Exchange rate today 07/19/2024 - 1:10 a.m. in Cuba:

Exchange rate of the dollar USD to CUP according to elTOQUE: 300 CUP.

Exchange rate of the euro EUR to CUP according to elTOQUE: 315 CUP.

MLC to CUP exchange rate according to EL TOQUE: 270 CUP.

The informal exchange rate of Cuba offered here is not officially recognized or endorsed by any financial or governmental entity.

The Cuban government does not plan to establish a new official exchange rate in the short term.

Amid the despair over an economy that is sinking at full speed, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz said this week that they cannot establish a new exchange rate "overnight."

The high-ranking Cuban official argued that a new official exchange rate "would bring about a devaluation of the peso and an unwanted impact on inflation, prices, and low wages," as if that were not already the present reality.

He indicated that there will be a new resizing of the currency market, but warned that it is complex under the current economic conditions, and stated that it will be implemented "very gradually and with extreme caution."

It is a fact that the regime has had to admit the failure of the official exchange rate of 1x120 imposed in August 2022 as part of the economic restructuring, but it has not yet found a way to determine a rate that eliminates the informal foreign exchange market.

With such a public statement, the Castro regime temporarily rules out changing the official exchange rate, despite the fact that it operates outside the real conditions of the economy and shows a deep discrepancy in relation to the street market, where the informal exchange rate this Wednesday stands at 305 CUP per USD.

During his intervention, Manuel Marrero Cruz did not miss the opportunity to reiterate his rejection of what he called the "illegal currency market," which must be put to an end, as it is not possible that "from a foreign country and from a computer, it is projected what the exchange rate should be in the country," he said in a veiled reference to elToque.