The price of the dollar and the euro skyrockets in Cuba today. Informal market exchange rates.

In the midst of a prolonged crisis with no solutions in sight, the informal foreign exchange market in Cuba started this week in May. 2025 with a notable increase in the major foreign currencies. This is reflected in the representative informal market exchange rates published daily by elToque.

The US dollar (USD) is positioned at 370 CUP, adding 2 pesos compared to the previous day, while the euro (EUR) soars to 388 CUP, a rise of 3 pesos that reaffirms it as the most expensive currency on the island's parallel market.

The Mexican peso (MXN), frequently used in remittances from the Aztec country, rises strikingly to 18.55 CUP, increasing 1.55 pesos in just 24 hours. On the other hand, the Canadian dollar (CAD) fell two pesos and is now at 233. CUP, while transfers through Zelle, one of the most used methods by Cubans abroad, dropped to 373 CUP, two pesos less than the previous day.

The Freely Convertible Currency (MLC), for its part, remains stable at 260 CUP, in a context where many Cubans continue trying to get rid of it due to its loss of usefulness outside of state-run stores, where the shelves remain empty or with products inaccessible to the majority.

Factors that could have influenced today's rates

Although no official measures have been announced that directly affect the informal exchange market, tensions remain due to uncertainty in the supply of basic goods, instability in domestic transportation, increasingly prolonged blackouts, and reports of liquefied gas shortages, limiting mobility and increasing pressure on the dollar's value as a safe haven.

Likewise, the recent report from the Cuban Currency and Finance Observatory (OMFi) continues to predict a rise in the dollar to 360-370 pesos by the end of May. This forecast appears to be coming true ahead of schedule. The shortage of foreign currency and fear of a more drastic devaluation of the national currency are keeping informal demand for dollars and euros alive.

The spread between the euro and the dollar is widening again, which could be associated with movements in international markets, where the US dollar has seen a slight decline against the euro, as well as increased demand for euros in Cuba for travel or purchases in European countries.

Today's equivalents in Cuban pesos (CUP)

1 USD = 370 CUP

• 1 USD = 370 CUP

• 5 USD = 1,850 CUP

• 10 USD = 3,700 CUP

• 20 USD = 7,400 CUP

• 30 USD = 11,100 CUP

• 50 USD = 18,500 CUP

• 100 USD = 37,000 CUP

1 EUR = 388 CUP

• 1 EUR = 388 CUP

• 5 EUR = 1,940 CUP

• 10 EUR = 3,880 CUP

• 20 EUR = 7,760 CUP

• 30 EUR = 11,640 CUP

• 50 EUR = 19,400 CUP

• 100 EUR = 38,800 CUP

1 MLC = 260 CUP

• 1 MLC = 260 CUP

• 5 MLC = 1,300 CUP

• 10 MLC = 2,600 CUP

• 20 MLC = 5,200 CUP

• 30 MLC = 7,800 CUP

• 50 MLC = 13,000 CUP

• 100 MLC = 26,000 CUP

CAD 1 = 233 CUP

• CAD 1 = 233 CUP

• CAD 5 = 1,165 CUP

• CAD 10 = 2,330 CUP

• CAD 20 = 4,660 CUP

• CAD 30 = 6,990 CUP

• CAD 50 = 11,650 CUP

• CAD 100 = 23,300 CUP

1 MXN = 18.55 CUP

• 1 MXN = 18.55 CUP

• 5 MXN = 92.75 CUP

• 10 MXN = 185.5 CUP

• 20 MXN = 371 CUP

• 30 MXN = 556.5 CUP

• 50 MXN = 927.5 CUP

• 100 MXN = 1,855 CUP

1 ZELLE = 373 CUP

• 1 ZELLE = 373 CUP

• 5 ZELLE = 1,865 CUP

• 10 ZELLE = 3,730 CUP

• 20 ZELLE = 7,460 CUP

• 30 ZELLE = 11,190 CUP

• 50 ZELLE = 18,650 CUP

• 100 ZELLE = 37,300 CUP

With the average salary in Cuba updated to 5,839 Cuban pesos, according to official ONEI data in April, a single $10 bill is now equivalent to more than 60% of that monthly income. The gap between the cost of living and the purchasing power of workers and retirees is widening every day.