Currency Prices in Cuba Drop for Third Consecutive Day

The informal currency market in Cuba continues to show signs of pronounced instability, as evidenced by the average selling values of key foreign currencies on the island this Thursday. As of 7 a.m. on June 13, the U.S. dollar is valued at 360 CUP, which is ten pesos less than the previous day. The U.S. dollar has been on a downward trend for three consecutive days, resulting in a 30-peso drop in 72 hours.

The euro has also declined today, now priced at 380 CUP, which is ten units less than its peak value in recent days. The Freely Convertible Currency (MLC) remains stable at 300 CUP. Despite a quiet start to the week, with no fluctuations in any of the three currencies on Monday, the last 72 hours have seen significant downward movement.

This decline follows five days of rapid increases, during which euros, dollars, and MLC almost regained their previous values before the May downturn. The volatility of Cuba’s informal currency market in recent weeks has once again highlighted the country’s economic drift and the uncertainty faced by its citizens, who are increasingly feeling the financial strain.

Exchange rates as of June 12, 2024, 7:10 a.m. in Cuba:

USD to CUP according to elTOQUE: 360 CUP.

EUR to CUP according to elTOQUE: 380 CUP.

MLC to CUP according to elTOQUE: 300 CUP.

The informal exchange rate in Cuba provided here is not officially recognized or backed by any financial or governmental entity.

New Chapter in the Government’s Battle Against elTOQUE

The Cuban government has yet to make any economic statements regarding the direction of foreign currencies but has dedicated a new chapter to its ongoing conflict with the independent outlet elTOQUE. In an article titled “Beyond the Price of the Dollar,” published on June 11 in the Granma newspaper, Jorge Enrique Jerez Belisario accused elTOQUE of being “part of a Fourth Generation Warfare package,” alleging coordinated actions in both media and real-world scenarios to create divisions that undermine the unity between the people, government, and party.

With convoluted rhetoric devoid of economic insight, Jerez Belisario considers elTOQUE “a part of the U.S. government’s unconventional warfare strategy against Cuba,” a common scapegoat for the nation’s woes. “Knowing this, it is too naive to believe in supposed algorithms that they themselves have not clarified, because their manifest purpose is to intensify the economic war and then blame the Cuban government for inefficiency. That is elTOQUE’s unfair war. What they seek, beyond the supposed price of the dollar, is to destabilize the country and destroy the Revolution,” concluded the writer.

The economy in Cuba remains adrift, but once again, political battles take center stage.

Exchange Equivalents for Euros and U.S. Dollars to Cuban Pesos (CUP)

U.S. Dollar (USD) to Cuban Peso (CUP), according to exchange rates on Wednesday, June 13:

1 USD = 360 CUP

5 USD = 1,800 CUP

10 USD = 3,600 CUP

20 USD = 7,200 CUP

50 USD = 18,000 CUP

100 USD = 36,000 CUP

Euros (EUR) to Cuban Pesos (CUP):

1 EUR = 380 CUP

5 EUR = 1,900 CUP

10 EUR = 3,800 CUP

20 EUR = 7,600 CUP

50 EUR = 19,000 CUP

100 EUR = 38,000 CUP

In a context of marked governmental inaction, elTOQUE recently announced that it has strengthened controls to calculate the representative rate amid growing suspicions of attempts to inflate or deflate values with false listings. elTOQUE alluded to a campaign by “government actors associated with State Security and Communist Party propaganda spokespeople” who have tried to discredit the outlet and its methodology for calculating the rate since April.

The campaign, they noted, has been joined by private sector actors who claim to have the ability to coordinate efforts to boost the appreciation of the Cuban peso. elTOQUE says it has “evidence of actions aimed at flooding virtual currency trading spaces with false offers to influence the algorithm” they use to calculate the rate.

The independent outlet maintains that from the beginning, they have been “transparent” and are aware of the limitations of their method, primarily not knowing which of the documented buy-sell ads are ultimately completed. Nevertheless, they argue that the calculated rate reflects the central movements of the informal market, although they admit it is “a speculative market by nature.”

“Neither the informal exchange market nor a service that makes it visible is the cause of the problems; if anything, they reflect the imbalances and inflation affecting the Cuban economy. The solution lies in the hands of the state and those who govern the country, who are the only ones with the institutional capacity to implement economic, fiscal, and monetary policy as part of a macroeconomic stabilization program that includes structural reforms,” they concluded.