MIAMI, United States. – The value of the US dollar in the Cuban informal market fell to 300 pesos this Christmas, a price it had not reached since last July.
According to the rate updated daily by The TouchDuring the morning of this December 25, the exchange rate of the US currency fell even more, coinciding with the downward trajectory that the currency had been following during the last week.
In parallel, the euro and the freely convertible currency (MLC) also registered decreases, trading at 310 CUP and 255 CUP, respectively.
This Wednesday’s outlook breaks with the prolonged stability that these currencies had exhibited for several months and that kept them at substantially higher values.
The 300 CUP barrier for the US dollar had been surpassed for the first time in February, amid a sustained rise since the beginning of the year. Subsequently, the USD reached close to 400 CUP and, since then, has experienced notable fluctuations, including considerable falls and periods of stagnation.
The downward trend occurs in a context in which the Cuban Government has announced an upcoming “exchange regime with greater flexibility,” as the prime minister explained. Manuel Marrero Cruz during the recent sessions of the National Assembly. This measure aims to enable the state banking system to compete in the informal sphere and channel foreign currency into official coffers, as well as enable “partial dollarization” mechanisms in certain activities.
However, the economic crisis that the Island is going through had not caused an abrupt increase in currencies in the parallel market, since – according to analysts – the low purchasing capacity of the majority of the population, together with the energy crisis and certain restrictions to the private sector, have limited demand.
