He dollar It seems on track to very soon surpass the barrier of 500 pesos (CUP) in Cuba’s informal market.
After experiencing a sustained rise in the first weeks of 2026, the US currency is already on the verge of that figure, with which it would reach a more than symbolic threshold amid high inflation and the worsening of the economic crisis on the island.
This Monday the dollar rose to 490 CUP, according to the opposition media The Touchused by many Cubans as a reference for currency purchase and sale operations outside the official rate.
This is 10 pesos more than its price last friday and 25 above its value a week agowhen it stood at 465 CUP.
For their part, the euro and the Canadian dollar remained at 525 and 320 CUP, respectively, values to which they rose this sunday to confirm its increase in recent days, in which they have progressively distanced themselves from the floating rate updated daily by the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC).
As for the MLC, it continues to be held at 400 CUP, a price around which it has been fluctuating since the end of last year. This, after experiencing a rapid increase in a matter of weeks, according to the rate of The Touchwhich the authorities and official media accuse of manipulating the informal currency market for political purposes.
Update of informal currency market rates in Cuba
Date: 01/19/2026Image 1: Representative rate of the informal market (elTOQUE)
EUR: 525.00 CUP
USD: 490.00 CUP
MLC: 400.00 CUPThere are offers in the ranges:
EUR: from 500.00 to 550.00 CUP
USD: from 440.00 to 540.00 CUP
MLC:… pic.twitter.com/to5vTOWxZl— The Touch (@eltoquecom) January 19, 2026
looking up
Last year the dollar also maintained an upward trend for much of the year, but—unlike the euro—it did not surpass the 500 peso barrier.
Since the end of October, the US currency, along with the European currency, experienced a drop in value, in a context marked by the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa and campaigns against the interest rate. The Touchboth from the Government and from areas of the private sector.
At the end of 2025, both currencies experienced fluctuations, but always below the values they had reached months before. This is how the BCC established the new floating rate, which was initially set only 30 pesos below the price at that time in the informal market.
However, this difference has been growing in recent weeks, particularly after the events of January 3 in Venezuela, and despite the fact that the value of the dollar in the floating rate has also increased.
Today, according to the BCCthe US currency is officially quoted at 419 CUP —nine pesos more than its initial representation—, but this is 71 pesos below the value it shows The Touch.
Also the euro —485.87 CUP— and the Canadian dollar —300.90 CUP— show significantly lower values in the floating rate with respect to the informal market, a gap that could presumably continue to widen in the precarious socioeconomic scenario of the island.
