CUC,USD,Euro

[JohnnyO]

Hello all. Some of you have asked about exchange rates down in Cuba, so I thought I'd post what I saw there last Friday:

Euro vs CUC

Buy 1.20

Sell 1.33

The CUC is still trading at $0.87 vs USD at the exchange houses. It is trading mostly at $0.95 vs USD in parallel markets, sometimes as high as 1:1. Rates will likely change some by the time Havanafest rolls around. Check last Fridays rate (10/24/14) in your country and you'll have a reference point for the Euro, Cuba's margins for buy/sell will be similar. John

[JohnnyO]

BTW....after the 4 days of constant rain cleared out the weather down there is beautiful. Mostly 70's and 80's, light humidity and a good breeze. Should be better in a few weeks. John

[Dmatzkin]

Hi John,

Would it be beneficial to exchange CAD (Canadian Dollars) instead of USD for CUC's you think?. For the Canadians out here of course .

[shlomo]

Hi John,

Would it be beneficial to exchange CAD (Canadian Dollars) instead of USD for CUC's you think?. For the Canadians out here of course .

Absolutely do not bring USD down to Cuba. Canadian $ or Euro is a much better idea.

[Ryan]

Thanks for that.

Euro vs CUC

Buy 1.20

That's the worst rate in years.

For what it's worth, I've seen some banks and exchange centres in Havana hotels offer much better rates on Swiss Francs than other currencies over the years, to the order of 10%. Not always but more than once.

[shlomo]

Whatever happened to the elimination of teh CUC that you widely reported 6 months ago? Will it finally happen or was it unreliable info?

[MostlyHarmless]

Absolutely do not bring USD down to Cuba. Canadian $ or Euro is a much better idea.

Absolutely do not bring USD down to Cuba. Canadian $ or Euro is a much better idea.

But why?

If i buy cigars for 100 cuc that would be:

Cuc 100 = € 84

Cuc 100 = $ 90 - $ 100

$ 90 - $ 100 = € 70 - € 79

[shlomo]

But why?

If i buy cigars for 100 cuc that would be:

Cuc 100 = € 84

Cuc 100 = $ 90 - $ 100

$ 90 - $ 100 = € 70 - € 79

The cuc is trading in between 85-90 for 100 canadian. So at par with American.

Canadian dollar is 10% (or so) weaker than USD, so your actually getting a 10% shaft by using USD.

100 USD = 87 CUC

100 CND = 87 CUC

Obviously use the currency with lower value if exchanging at the same rate or very close to it.

[CUBANO]

Johnny,

Was that rate at the airport, hotel or cadeca?

[MostlyHarmless]

Didn't know about the Canadian Dollar. Thanks Shlomo. That's actually pretty good.

so it's

Cuc 100 = EUR 84

Cuc 100 = USD 90 - 100
Cuc 100 = CAD 90 - 100

USD 90 - 100 = EUR 70 - 79

USD 90 - 100 = EUR 63 - 70

(or even less)