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The U.S. dollar reached 585 Cuban pesos (CUP) in Cuba's informal market this Monday, according to the 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 rise has been sustained and accelerated 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 15 pesos of 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
On its part, the euro remains at 645 CUP, a record reached on Thursday, May 28, which is threatening to be surpassed throughout the 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 provide 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 this Monday's data, the greenback has now accumulated 50 pesos of increase since the beginning of May.
The upward trend is driven by the strong demand for foreign currency from the population and the persistent shortage 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% drop 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 decrease in travel by Cubans residing abroad.
This is accompanied by an annual inflation rate of 14.73%, with agricultural prices in the non-state market that increased by 31.9% in the first quarter of 2026, and projections of a decline in the Cuban GDP ranging from 6.5% to 15% in 2026 according to CEPAL, The Economist Intelligence Unit, and the economist Pedro Monreal.
The impact on the purchasing power of Cubans is devastating: the average salary hovers 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 exchanged at 42 CUP in the informal market; today it is quoted at 585 CUP, marking a loss of value of approximately 95% for the peso 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, when it was 22%, indicating an unprecedented acceleration in deterioration.
The Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa acknowledged the seriousness of the situation in February: “With 6,000 pesos, one cannot live due to high prices”, an admission that contrasts with the lack of effective measures from the regime to stop the collapse of the peso.
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