The informal currency market in Cuba started this Saturday with the dollar at 530 Cuban pesos, the euro at 600 CUP, and the MLC at 400 CUP, according to the daily monitoring by elTOQUE.
These figures solidify historic record levels for the three main currencies in the island's parallel market, amidst a fortnight of consecutive depreciations of the Cuban peso.
The dollar reached its historic high of 530 CUP on Tuesday, April 22, after rising four pesos compared to the previous day, and has now remained at that level for four consecutive days.
The euro broke the psychological barrier of 600 CUP on Sunday, April 19 —a historic milestone for the European currency in Cuba— and has maintained that level for six consecutive days.
Exchange Rate Evolution
The MLC, for its part, has been at 400 CUP for three consecutive days, after fluctuating between 385 and 400 pesos in previous days.
The gap with the official rate is significant: the Central Bank of Cuba sets the dollar at 494 CUP and the euro at 578.67 CUP, figures that are far below what is paid on the street.
The Observatory of Currencies and Finances of Cuba (OMFI) projects that by the end of April, a dollar will be at 533 CUP —with a fluctuation range between 503 and 590 CUP— and a euro will be at 604 CUP, with a range between 574 and 640 CUP, suggesting that the upward trend has not yet concluded.
The depreciation of the Cuban peso in 2026 has accelerated due to several concurrent factors: the energy crisis caused by the halt in fuel shipments from Venezuela and Mexico, the decline in tourism, and the structural shortage of foreign currency in the official banking system.
In addition, on April 1, high denomination bills of 5,000 and 2,000 CUP were introduced, which generated additional exchange rate uncertainty. The director of Issuance at the Central Bank, Julio Antonio Pérez Álvarez, acknowledged that the issuance responds to the demand due to rising prices.
Since 2020, the Cuban peso has lost approximately 95% of its value against the dollar in the informal market, rising from 42 CUP per dollar to the current 530 CUP. In just the last twelve months, the dollar increased by 47.8%, from 345 CUP in March 2025 to 510 CUP in March 2026.
According to an article by economist Pavel Vidal, the crisis has structural roots in the failed monetary reform of 2021, known as Tarea Ordenamiento.
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