HAVANA, Cuba – The informal foreign exchange market in Cuba registered a decrease in the price of the dollar and the Freely Convertible Currency (MLC) this December 22.
At dawn this Sunday, the average sale of the US currency decreased three pesos compared to the previous day, standing at 317 Cuban pesos (CUP), according to the independent media report The Touch.
Meanwhile, the MLC decreased two pesos to 263 CUP and the euro maintained its price at 325 CUP, a figure it reached the day before.
These fluctuations reflect the instability that has characterized the foreign exchange market in Cuba during 2024. Last June, values increased steadily, while in July they experienced a significant drop and subsequently a period of stability for several weeks.
The index prepared by The Touch takes as reference nearly 2,000 daily currency purchase and sale advertisements on various Cuban websites to establish the exchange ratethus providing an approximation to the behavior of the informal currency market on the Island.
Last Wednesday, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz announced before the plenary session of the National Assembly that in 2025 he will impose a exchange rate for the dollar and the euro in Cuba.
The extent It seeks “greater flexibility”, since it will “adjust” the rate when the supply and demand of foreign currency changes in the formal market.
“The new regime exchange It assumes greater flexibility in the exchange rate, by establishing that the rate must vary when the conditions of supply and demand for foreign currency change. It is a complex process due to the participation of the state, non-state sector and the population, with multiple exchange rates,” the official explained in his speech.
This provisionAccording to Marrero, the aim is for the banking system to be able to compete in the “exchange business” and in this way collect foreign currency.
The process will occur gradually, according to his statement, and will allow the bank to not be “outside of this entire illegal exchange market.”
