The informal currency market in Cuba opens this Sunday with a new decrease in the prices of the main foreign currencies.
According to the monitoring recorded this morning, the dollar is valued at 660 Cuban pesos (CUP), the euro at 747 CUP, and the freely convertible currency (MLC) at 442 CUP.
Informal exchange rate in Cuba. Sunday, July 12, 2026 - 06:30
- Exchange rate of the dollar (USD) to Cuban pesos CUP: 660 CUP
- Exchange rate of the euro (EUR) to Cuban pesos CUP: 747 CUP
- Exchange rate of (MLC) to Cuban pesos CUP: 442 CUP
The figures confirm the downward trend that deepened on Saturday, when the dollar closed at 663 CUP, the euro at 753 CUP, and the MLC at 419 CUP. In relation to these figures, the dollar loses an additional three pesos, the euro drops six more pesos, while the MLC rises by 23 pesos, although it remains far from the levels of the previous week.
Exchange Rate Evolution
This correction interrupts the sustained rise that took the dollar from 610 CUP on July 1 to 680 CUP between July 7 and July 9, its weekly peak. On Friday, the dollar had already fallen to 670 CUP, and the decline continues this weekend.
The recent historical high was recorded on June 21, when the dollar reached 695 CUP and the euro hit 800 CUP, just after the approval of 176 economic measures by the National Assembly on the 18th of that month. Instead of stabilizing the market, the announcement spiked the demand for foreign currency. After that peak, the dollar corrected to 605 CUP at the end of June before recovering.
The gap between the official rate remains enormous. The Central Bank of Cuba (BCC) set the dollar at 592 CUP and the euro at 676.15 CUP for July 2026, figures that do not reflect the reality of the market where Cubans buy and sell foreign currency daily.
Although the recent downward trend may seem like good news, the impact on the income of Cubans remains devastating.
With the dollar at 660 CUP, the official average salary of 6,930 CUP amounts to just 10.5 dollars per month, according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information for 2025. Independent economists estimate that meeting basic needs requires about 96,060 CUP per month, equivalent to around 145 dollars, which is 14 times the average salary.
The situation for retirees is even more critical. The minimum pension of 4,000 CUP —in effect since September 2025— amounts to just over six dollars at the informal exchange rate this Sunday. Basic food alone requires around 70,000 CUP per month, turning that pension into a symbolic amount for more than 1.7 million Cuban retirees who, in addition, must wait in lines for four to six hours to collect it.
The minimum wage has been raised to 3,210 CUP as of July 1, an increase of 53% compared to the previous 2,100 CUP, but at the informal exchange rate, it amounts to less than five dollars a month. Over six years, the Cuban peso has lost more than 95% of its value against the dollar: from 42 CUP in 2020 to 660 CUP this Sunday.
Independent economists warn that the current decline may be temporary. "As long as those conditions do not change—real foreign currency shortages, triple-digit inflation, fiscal deficit, and mistrust in the Cuban peso—the rate will eventually rise again," they noted this month.
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