Live
Audio Only
Cuba will start buying foreign currency this August 4, including US dollars, at an exchange rate higher than the current one of 24 Cuban pesos for each U.S. currency, it was announced today.
The measure will not only apply to the U.S. currency but also to other currencies.
This initiative is a "fundamental step" so that, in the future, the State may implement a foreign exchange market in which it may also offer foreign currencies, said this Wednesday the Minister of Economy, Alejandro Gil, during an intervention on state television.
RELATED:
Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua Reject US Interference in Taiwan
Likewise, the Minister-President of the Central Bank of Cuba, Marta Wilson, clarified that a "commercial margin of purchase" will be applied, placing the final exchange over the counter at 110 cup per dollar.
In the same sense, she clarified that Cubans with cards in MLC -a virtual currency backed by foreign currency that can receive transfers from abroad- can also carry out these operations.
The Economy Minister added that this would seek to "recover the purchasing power of the salary in Cuban peso," reach a "single exchange rate," and attack "the main problem of the Cuban economy, which is the lack of foreign currency."
Gil did not clarify when the Government will begin to offer foreign currency, but he did explain that this will occur when "there are conditions for buying and selling."
Newsletter
