The national currency has completely collapsed while the euro has seen a scandalous rise in the last 24 hours, according to El ToqueThe government's floating rate is still missing.
The European banknote is worth almost 500 pesos on the Cuban informal currency market.
The euro is trading at 499 pesos, just one peso below the symbolic threshold of 500.
According to data updated by El Toque, the European currency registered an increase of 9 pesos compared to the previous day, confirming its upward trend in recent weeks.
The same table shows that the US dollar remains at 435 pesos, unchanged.
The Freely Convertible Currency (MLC) remains at 210 pesos, also unchanged.
However, there were other significant movements: the Canadian dollar rose to 291.53 pesos (2.82 more than the previous day), and the Mexican peso reached 22.65 pesos, with a slight upward variation of 0.04.
Meanwhile, the Swiss franc fell slightly to 438.48 pesos, down 0.5%, and the Brazilian real fell to 75.99 pesos, down 1.44%.
Among digital payment methods and cards, Zelle reached 425.31 pesos (+0.99) and the Classic card reached 417.67 (+1.67).
An unfavorable outlook for the Cuban population
The fact that the euro is close to 500 pesos directly reflects the loss of value of the CUPFor a worker earning the average salary, about 6506 pesos, their salary is equivalent to just 13 euros at the current exchange rate.
A retiree, who receives a maximum of 1900 pesos a month, can barely afford to buy more than 3 euros. This gap illustrates the impossibility of covering basic expenses when products on the private market are priced in foreign currency.
The impact is immediate on the prices of food, medicine, and basic goods. Private importers pass on any increase in the euro and dollar exchange rate to their tariffs, and consumers end up paying the price.
In practice, the devaluation of the peso means less food, less medicine and fewer options for those who depend only on income in CUP.
Factors that explain the rise
The government had promised to intervene in the foreign exchange market during the second half of 2025, but no concrete measures have been implemented to date.
The lack of confidence in the national currency, coupled with supply problems, prolonged blackouts, and the effects of heavy rains in the eastern region, has further boosted demand for foreign currency.
In this context, speculation also plays a key role. With the widespread perception that the euro will surpass the 500-peso mark at any moment, those who hold the currency choose to hold onto it, which further raises prices in daily transactions.
Currency conversion to Cuban pesos
Euro (1 EUR = 499 CUP):
- 1 EUR = 499 CUP
- 10 EUR = 4990 CUP
- 20 EUR = 9980 CUP
- 30 EUR = 14 970 CUP
- 50 EUR = 24 950 CUP
- 100 EUR = 49 900 CUP
US Dollar (1 USD = 435 CUP):
- 1 USD = 435 CUP
- 10 USD = 4350 CUP
- 20 USD = 8700 CUP
- 30 USD = 13 CUP
- 50 USD = 21 CUP
- 100 USD = 43 CUP
MLC (1 MLC = 210 CUP):
- 1 MLC = 210 CUP
- 10 MLC = 2100 CUP
- 20 MLC = 4200 CUP
- 30 MLC = 6300 CUP
- 50 MLC = 10 500 CUP
- 100 MLC = 21 000 CUP.