At this rate, who can afford not to go to Cuba! Can someone post the rate for CDN and Euro?

CubanWaters, see the link that I previously posted from elTOQUE. The current street exchange rate for Canadian dollars can be found there, as well as for a slew of other currencies. I've noticed that the rate has now indeed dropped back to 485 CUP to $1 USD as Simon had eluded to earlier. I think his crystal balls are bigger than mine! Terry

Another small decline today. Down to 480.

The cambio now seems to be falling through the floor! Down to only 470 CUP to $1 USD as of this morning. I think that hurricane has now blown away that continued march upward! Very strange! But so is CUBA! Terry

The rapid decline continues. 430 pesos per USD today.

Simon, any guesses on what the rate will be in January or February? If we go to Cuba it is usually then. I know, impossible to predict but I am hoping it doesn’t go way down.

I'll take a stab at answering that for you, Wessislander. The rate has at least stopped going down... it's now been pegged at 430 CUP to $1 USD for a little more than 2 days, so perhaps it has now bottomed and will begin its rise back up soon. Pure speculation on my part, of course. But the exchange rates did this sort of thing a year ago too and then turned around heading up once again. I think it has just gone through a correction. Inevitably though, it will always go higher and will likely get back to where it was before 2 weeks ago. Of course it will fall again around Christmas and New Year's when a flood of Cuban-Americans will once again visit with family during the holidays - their US dollars also flooding the market and driving the exchange rate down a bit. That happens every year at that time. Terry

Correction: it's not done with its free-fall yet - now down again to 420 CUP to $1 USD. But no worries, it will find the water table eventually and begin to creep up again. It's just a question of when. Terry

Despite the recent correction, the trend since Covid, is the Cuban peso losing value. Based on the current situation (supply and demand, government policies, etc) I see the floor being 350 pesos per USD and a maximum of 500 over the next few months. Big difference I know. But the bottom line is that tourists will still be doing well with foreign currencies.

Now at 415 CUP to $1 USD. Simon, it might just get to that 350 CUP sooner rather than later after all. Terry

You might have to reduce your 15 beer a day habit Terry.

No, I'll have to keep drinking those 15+ cervezas y ron there each day to keep from crying, Simon. And to stay well pickled to ward off the dengue and chukungunya ladden mosquitoes too. That's always worked well for me in the past. They leave me alone - they know my blood will kill them instantly.

Now down again to 410 CUP as of this morning too, btw. I need to send my wife another $600 USD via SendValu on Saturday - we still owe the guy $250 USD for that new lithium battery for the motorina. But now I'm worried that he'll want more considering that the exchange rate has dropped so much since we struck the original deal. My wife can be one heck of a saleswoman though - something else that we have in common. I'm sure she'll figure out how to deal again with that dude. Everything is accomplished there these days with the help of propinas or gifts. She needs to hit the supermarket with her credit card first... perhaps a package of chicken will keep him happy. Terry

It's possible the USD may have hit bottom at 410 for now. The next couple of weeks will be interesting. Back up to 420 today.

https://eltoque.com/que-dicen-los-da...-dolar-en-cuba

Back UP to 440 CUP to $1 as of this morning... just at the right moment after my wife, Yudith, has now received the new $600 USD that I sent to her. She'll be converting that incrementally as needed too, of course. Terry

And back up to 450 CUP to $1 USD today - well on it's way to recovery now. I'm betting it'll hit that 50,000 CUP to $100 USD within 2 weeks.

Some might ask - what is driving the resurgence of the USD's value there in Cuba now, and for all foreign currencies really? Part of that reason is that we're now well into November - the month when all Cubans are shopping for their beer and rum and everything else that will be needed for their fin de anos (end of year / new year's eve) fiestas, because beer especially will be difficult to find once we get into December. I've already got 3 cases of Corona, 4 cases of Bucanaro, 2 cases of Cristal, 2 big bottles of HC 7 year, and 2 bottles of HC Seleccion de Maestros waiting for me in our casa's bedroom for starters when I arrive later in December. I also have 6 x 2L bottles of TuKola and 6 x 2L Lemon-Lime for mix, as well as 6 x 2L bottles of Orange for the kids too. I even have a 24 pack cans of Canada Dry Ginger Ale - a treat when mixed with the HC 7 year rum. Ummm! Still need more beer though. Can never have enough beer. Terry

The rate seems to be going up and down now - it got back up to as high as 465 CUP to $1, but has now fallen back down to 440. Wild swings may be the norm for a bit. Terry

Yes it's prety terrible if you ask me, how much do you plan on carrying, if not a lot go with PESOS. But at someplace where you get better rate.

muntiqa, I'll likely be taking approx. $4,000 USD with me in December to Cuba to support me and my wife during my 24 days there - always better to bring more than you think you'll need for incremental exchange, as the unused portion can be brought back, no problem. I have my USD converted to CUP by the largest street exchanger in all of Camaguey city. He has literally millions of CUP on hand and in all denominations available too - better to go direct to the source rather than using any of the many middlemen in the street. I always get the best rate of exchange from that guy as well. Terry

How reliable is El Toque? Does it line-up to what you'd actually get for an exchange in Cuba? What info do sellers go by in Cuba?

"Just over a year ago, academics from the University of Havana conducted a study on the exchange rates published daily by El Toque and concluded that these did not reflect the real price of the dollar on the Cuban informal market..."


The Noxious Murkiness of El Toque