The greenback is trading today at 430 Cuban pesos, its lowest level in two weeks.
MADRID, Spain.- The US dollar continues its decline in the Cuban informal market and is trading today, November 4, at 430 Cuban pesos (CUP), according to the reference rate published by El Toque.
The drop, of 10 pesos compared to the previous day, marks the lowest level of the greenback in the last two weeks. The euro remains at 500 CUP, while the freely convertible currency (MLC) drops to 200 CUP.
Other currencies, such as the Canadian dollar (250 CUP) and the Mexican peso (22.56 CUP), also show slight decreases. The Brazilian real, on the other hand, rises slightly to 84.07 CUP, being the only currency with an upward trend.
Despite the fall of the dollar, there are no signs that the Cuban Government has intervened in the exchange market or that there has been an increase in the supply of foreign currency. Analysts agree that the phenomenon could respond to the incidence of Hurricane Melissa and the temporary increase in remittances.
The movement reflects the volatility of the informal market, where the value of the Cuban peso depends on the relationship between supply and demand in private transactions and not on effective monetary policy. The shortage of foreign currency, inflation and loss of confidence in the financial system continue to be the main factors influencing the behavior of the exchange rate.
Despite the decline, the gap between the Cuban peso and foreign currencies continues to be significant. With an average state salary of around 5,000 CUP, the average worker can barely acquire about 12 dollars in the informal market, a sign of the sustained loss of purchasing power in the country.
Although exchange rates are falling, prices for food, transportation and basic services continue to rise, driven by foreign currency costs and product shortages. In practice, the decline in the dollar does not translate into an improvement in purchasing power or a perceptible relief for Cuban households.
The behavior of the informal market maintains a general upward trend in the medium term, as long as there is no economic plan that restores confidence in the national currency. For now, the dollar is going down the table, but the Cuban economy still shows no signs of relief.
