The MUC dollar ( Spanish: Dólar de Mercado Único de Cambio; Dólar MUC) was an artificial currency that circulated in Peru since October 1977 controlled by the Central Reserve Bank of Peru [1] by order of the government of Francisco Morales Bermúdez, through Law No. 21,953. [2] Its purpose was to encourage national investments, avoiding import controls, [1] through a model where the state bought dollars at the open market exchange rate, assuming a part of this purchase cost ( subsidy), and finally sold it at a lower price to national businessmen, who, in turn, should use it exclusively to invest in their industries and thus strengthen national production. [2] It was ultimately no different than the regular U.S. dollar at an accessible price. [2]
Between 1978 and 1986, the difference between the price of the MUC dollar and that of the free market did not exceed 10%. [2] Due to the country's hyperinflation, however, businessmen stopped trusting the national economy and began to use the MUC dollar in their personal accounts, which increased the instability and generated a sharp decrease in the country's international reserves. [3]
On August 8, 1990, reforms were announced by then Prime Minister, Juan Carlos Hurtado Miller, which eliminated the single exchange market and thus, eliminated the currency named after it. [2]
A similar currency is the more expensive Dólar blue (also known as the Dólar negro), which started circulating in Argentina in 2011 as a result of the country's economic crisis. Unlike the Peruvian artificial currency, the Argentine currency is a part of the country's black market. [2] Similarly, the informal Ocoña dollar circulated in the 1990s. [4]
The MUC dollar ( Spanish: Dólar de Mercado Único de Cambio; Dólar MUC) was an artificial currency that circulated in Peru since October 1977 controlled by the Central Reserve Bank of Peru [1] by order of the government of Francisco Morales Bermúdez, through Law No. 21,953. [2] Its purpose was to encourage national investments, avoiding import controls, [1] through a model where the state bought dollars at the open market exchange rate, assuming a part of this purchase cost ( subsidy), and finally sold it at a lower price to national businessmen, who, in turn, should use it exclusively to invest in their industries and thus strengthen national production. [2] It was ultimately no different than the regular U.S. dollar at an accessible price. [2]
Between 1978 and 1986, the difference between the price of the MUC dollar and that of the free market did not exceed 10%. [2] Due to the country's hyperinflation, however, businessmen stopped trusting the national economy and began to use the MUC dollar in their personal accounts, which increased the instability and generated a sharp decrease in the country's international reserves. [3]
On August 8, 1990, reforms were announced by then Prime Minister, Juan Carlos Hurtado Miller, which eliminated the single exchange market and thus, eliminated the currency named after it. [2]
A similar currency is the more expensive Dólar blue (also known as the Dólar negro), which started circulating in Argentina in 2011 as a result of the country's economic crisis. Unlike the Peruvian artificial currency, the Argentine currency is a part of the country's black market. [2] Similarly, the informal Ocoña dollar circulated in the 1990s. [4]