He euro it reached 290 Cuban Pesos (CUP) This Saturday, the highest figure ever seen on the islandAnd this is just a preview of what could happen when, from February 1, the government implements the fuel price hike and dollarization of its marketing, the key measures of its announced economic package.
According to independent media the touchIn its recently published representative rate of the exchange market, The US dollar is trading at 284CUP, which is another record. The euro rose by three pesos in relation to the exchange rate on Friday, while the dollar rose by two pesos. MLC remains at 250CUP for many daysThe same applies to the instruments used to measure the value of these currencies in Cuba.
On December 31, CUP was exchanged at 265 per dollar. I mean, It has fallen by 19 pesos in 27 days of January. To apply the margin of comparison, in January 2023 each unit of the US currency was priced at 160 pesos, each euro at 165 and the MLC at 157, marking one historical record after another since then.
The above Cuban economic debacle is merely a symptom of skyrocketing prices of consumer goods and a steady decline in the purchasing power of the island’s residents.
Last January 16, A.T. measure the rate of depreciation of world currencies, Academic Steve Hanke pegs the CUP for a fall of 37.09% from January 2023. In this, the exchange rate of 275 pesos for one dollar has already been crossed. At that time the Cuban peso was 12th. The least valuable currency on the planet, a Johns Hopkins University economist indicated.
The above incident occurred when the regime announced the application of a great economic package which essentially involves raising rates for services such as transport or electricity. However, the measure that creates the greatest uncertainty is the increase in the price of gasoline and diesel and the dollarization of their sales.
According to official data, inflation in Cuba closed 2023 with a year-on-year increase of 34.34% in the formal market. This is mainly due to increases in prices in restaurants, transportation and food, according to the state’s Office of National Statistics and Information (ONEI).
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) also increased by 3.39% in December compared to the previous month.ONEI specified. By category, restaurants and hotels (47.18%) increased year-on-year, followed by transportation (37.52%) and food and non-alcohol beverages (36.36%), which are traditionally the most inflationary. Is.
Although the package will not go into effect until next February 1, its impact is already being felt on the wallets of Cubans: Food prices and rates charged by transporters have increasedAccording to the Cubans on the island. They will continue to do so.