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The euro reached 800 Cuban pesos (CUP) this Saturday in Cuba's informal currency exchange market, according to data published by elTOQUE at 12:00 pm Cuba time, marking a new all-time high for the European currency on the Island.
The offers recorded in the informal market fluctuated between 740 and 830 CUP per euro, while the U.S. dollar also reached a record at 695 CUP, with transactions ranging from 620 to 760 CUP. The MLC closed at 501.74 CUP.
All monitored currencies showed an upward trend during the day.
The rise of the euro in June has been staggering: it started the month at 645 CUP and in just 20 days accumulated an increase of 155 pesos, more than 24%.
The dollar started at 585 CUP on June 1 and has risen by 110 pesos—over 18%—during the same period.
Early on Saturday, the euro was already at 795 CUP and the dollar at 693 CUP, just five and seven pesos away from their respective psychological barriers, which were surpassed throughout the day.
The gap between the informal market and official rates is immense. According to the exchange rate data from elTOQUE, the Banco Popular de Ahorro (BPA) and Bandec sell the euro for 660.73 CUP and the dollar for 576.30 CUP, while CADECA in hotels and airports offers the highest rates in the formal market: 686.64 CUP for the euro and 598.90 CUP for the dollar.
Those who buy currency on the street pay between 100 and 140 pesos more than what the state acknowledges.
This new record comes a day after Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz presented a package of 176 economic measures to the National Assembly, the largest since the Special Period, which includes the authorization of private currency exchange houses, a real-time digital currency market, currency auctions, and private channels for remittances. The informal market responded with more increases, not with confidence.
Miguel Díaz-Canel himself acknowledged before the Assembly that "there are obstacles that do not come from outside or from the embargo," an unusual admission of internal responsibility in the crisis.
The public's reaction on social media to the package of measures was one of widespread skepticism, with the question "Does anyone believe them?" being a common denominator.
The economist Elías Amor warned that Cuba's fiscal deficit exceeds 12% of GDP and that inflation could reach 30-40% if the structural imbalance is not corrected.
"No foreign currency will enter Cuba in the coming months," he stated, adding that "the issue is that needs can be met with foreign currency, and people will be willing to pay whatever it takes for it."
In historical perspective, the collapse of the Cuban peso is devastating: in 2020, the dollar was valued at about 42 CUP in the informal market; this Saturday it stands at 695 CUP, a loss of more than 95% of the peso's value in six years.
The euro, which reached 500 CUP on October 1, 2025 — then considered a historic record — has risen by 60% in just eight months.
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