Cuba announces details of currency unification
Cuba announces details of currency unification
| October 1, 2014 | Updated: October 1, 2014 11:23am
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba's central bank chief is giving new details about the elimination of a special currency, saying that the shift will require putting more pesos into circulation and issuing higher-denomination bills.
Elimination of the stronger currency is one of the toughest challenges facing Cuba's struggling socialist economy, forcing officials to eliminate a distorted double set of prices for many goods without spawning inflation.
Most Cubans earn and buy goods in local pesos. The convertible peso used largely in the tourism sector is also used by Cubans to buy goods long unavailable in local currency. The convertible peso is worth about one U.S. dollar, or 24 local pesos. The highest-denomination local bill is 100 pesos.
The state news agency reports Wednesday that Central Bank president Ernesto Medina says consumer prices won't change.
http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/Cuba-announces-details-of-currency-unification-5793691.php