The US dollar reached 585 Cuban pesos (CUP) in Cuba's informal market on Monday, according to real-time monitoring by elTOQUE, marking a new historical high for the fourth consecutive day and consolidating a pattern of sharp increases of five pesos per day.
The increase has been steady and rapid in recent days: 572 CUP on Friday, May 29, 575 CUP on Saturday, May 30, 580 CUP on Sunday, May 31, and 585 CUP this Monday, which represents almost a 15 peso increase in just four days.
Informal exchange rate in Cuba Monday, June 1, 2026 - 07:00
Exchange rate of the dollar (USD) to Cuban pesos CUP: 585 CUP
Exchange rate of the euro (EUR) to Cuban pesos CUP: 645 CUP
Exchange rate from (MLC) to Cuban pesos CUP: 405 CUP
For its part, the euro remains at 645 CUP, a record reached on Thursday, May 28, which is at risk of being surpassed throughout this day. Meanwhile, the MLC is trading this Monday at 405 CUP in the informal market.
The gap with the official exchange rate set by the Central Bank of Cuba, fixed at 514 CUP per dollar, has widened to 71 pesos, a difference that reflects the state's inability to supply foreign currency at controlled prices.
May 2026 consolidates itself as the worst month in the recent history of the Cuban peso: the dollar opened the month at 535 CUP on the first of May and closed at 580 CUP, accumulating a rise of 45 pesos in 30 days, an increase of 8.4% in just one month.
With the data from this Monday, the greenback has already increased by 50 pesos since the beginning of May.
The upward trend is driven by the strong demand for foreign currency among the population and the ongoing scarcity of supply in the informal market, a structural imbalance that worsens with each passing week.
The factors contributing to the pressure on the peso are numerous and interrelated: an electricity deficit of nearly 2,000 MW that halts production, a 55.8% decline in tourism between January and April 2026 with only 328,608 visitors according to the National Office of Statistics and Information, and a 41.2% year-on-year reduction in travel by Cubans living abroad.
This is accompanied by an annual inflation rate of 14.73%, with prices for agricultural products in the non-state market that increased by 31.9% in the first quarter of 2026, and estimates of a decline in the Cuban GDP ranging from 6.5% to 15% in 2026 according to CEPAL, The Economist Intelligence Unit, and economist Pedro Monreal.
The impact on the purchasing power of Cubans is devastating: the average salary is around 6,930 CUP, equivalent to less than 12 dollars at the current informal exchange rate.
The decline of the peso is a long-term phenomenon: in 2020, the dollar was trading at 42 CUP on the informal market; today it is quoted at 585 CUP, representing a loss of approximately 95% of the peso's value over six years.
The average year-on-year depreciation between January and April 2026 was 45%, more than double that of the entire year of 2025, which was 22%, indicating an unprecedented acceleration of the deterioration.
The Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa acknowledged the seriousness of the situation in February: "With 6,000 pesos, it is impossible to live due to the high prices", an admission that contrasts with the lack of effective measures by the regime to curb the collapse of the peso.
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