This is how the informal market in Cuba closes this Saturday: the dollar and the euro finish the day stable

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By CiberCuba Editorial Team

Saturday, August 15, 2026 - 9:07 PM

Reference image created with Artificial IntelligencePhoto © CiberCuba / ChatGPT

At 8:00 PM, local Cuban time, closes this Saturday, August 15, 2026, with a calm day for the main currencies. The US dollar and the euro end the day unchanged compared to the previous session, while the MLC shows a notable decline, although its quotation should be regarded with caution due to the low trading volume supporting it.

The U.S. dollar is trading at 664 Cuban pesos (CUP) at the close of this Saturday. It remains unchanged from the previous day, consolidating a stability that, however, does not erase the downward trend of the past week: seven days ago, the greenback was exchanged for 673 CUP, representing a drop of 8.5 pesos during that period (-1.3%). Over the last 30 days, the dollar has fluctuated between a low of 655 and a high of 675 CUP, and its current value is 9 pesos higher than it was a month ago, although the 30-day comparison may reflect adjustments in the methodology of the index, not just market movement. It continues to set the pace of the informal market amidst a context of structural foreign exchange scarcity.

The euro closes the day at 760 Cuban pesos (CUP), unchanged from the previous session. Like the dollar, the European currency has experienced a significant weekly loss: seven days ago it was exchanged at 781 CUP, which represents a decline of 20.5 pesos over the last week (-2.6%). In the past month, the euro has reached a high of 790 and a low of 755 CUP; its current rate exceeds that of 30 days ago by 5 pesos, although this comparison should be interpreted with caution due to potential methodological adjustments. It surpasses the dollar by 96 pesos, solidifying its dominant position in the Cuban parallel market.

The MLC closes at around 435 Cuban pesos (CUP), a value that should be considered as indicative due to the low volume of transactions recorded during this time frame. This represents a drop of 19.5 pesos compared to the previous day (-4.3%) and a decrease of 26 pesos from a week ago (-5.6%). Over the last 30 days, the MLC has fluctuated between a minimum of 413 and a maximum of 496 CUP. Lacking physical existence, its use is limited to state-run businesses that accept it, which restricts its circulation compared to cash currencies.

Exchange rate of the dollar USD to CUP: 664 CUP.
Exchange rate of the euro EUR to CUP: 760 CUP.
Exchange rate from MLC to CUP: 435 CUP (indicative value, few data).

The official exchange rate of the Central Bank of Cuba (Segment III), at 628 CUP per dollar and 727 CUP per euro, remains well below the values that govern daily transactions in the informal currency market.

Although Segment III was introduced as a more flexible currency exchange mechanism, its official rate remains very distant from the informal market and fails to meet the actual foreign currency demand of the population. It is worth noting that in the last month, the official dollar rate has risen from 592 to 628 CUP, and the euro rate from 678 to 727 CUP, which reflects a sustained adjustment that, despite everything, leaves a gap of 36 pesos for the dollar and 33 pesos for the euro compared to the informal market.

In a scenario of sustained inflation, low state salaries, and increasing partial dollarization of the economy, every fluctuation in the informal market directly affects internal prices and the purchasing power of Cubans.

The Exchange Rate of CiberCuba is an index of the informal Cuban market created through the automated analysis of thousands of currency buy and sell posts in Telegram and Facebook groups; the calculation disregards atypical offers and spam messages, weights each transaction according to its age, and consolidates a representative value that is updated several times a day.