On the last day the euro was negotiated at closing 137.06 gourdes on averagewhich represented a change of 0.94% compared to the 138.36 gourdes of the previous day.
In relation to the last seven days, the euro notes a decrease in 0.21%so that since a year ago it still has a decrease in 2.93%.
If we compare the value with previous days, it reversed the data from the previous day, where it ended with an increase of 0.25%, without being able to establish a recently defined trend. The volatility referring to the last week presented a behavior higher than the volatility shown in the figures for the last year, which indicates that the value experiences greater variations than the general trend.
The gourde (translated as “fat”) is the official currency in Haiti. and it is referred to as HGT, it is also divided into 100 cents and its production is regulated by the Bank of the Republic of Haiti.
Although its name comes from French, its origin refers to the Spanish currency called “gordos”; Some citizens also call it “goud”, to sound similar to the English word “mood”.
Introduced in 1813 in replacement of the old poundcurrently you can find 5, 10, 20, 50 centimes, as well as 1 and 10 gourdes, however, the 5, 10 and 20 centime coins do not maintain regular use, so their use is a minority.
As for the banknotes, there are 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 250 and 1000 gourdes. One Haitian gourde is currently equivalent to 0.0097 units of the US dollar, as well as 0.0085 units of the euro.
Throughout its history, the gourde has had three emissions, the last in 1872, which is the one currently used. In 1912 the currency was pegged to the US dollarbut in 1989 it was unlinked, despite the fact that today there are places where citizens prefer to use the Haitian dollar, followed by the US dollar, the second most accepted currency.
For the Haitian banknotes, images of historical figures have been chosen, such as that of Marché Valliéres, a famous pedestrian market, as well as Catherine Flonwho is a symbol of the Haitian revolution, was the woman who sewed the first flag of Haiti in 1803. The coat of arms appears on the back of all coins.
Demand for the currency is low outside the country, since Haiti has a fragile economysince it is not an exporting nation and fully depends on agriculture to survive. In addition, its annual budget is 20 percent financed by foreign aid.
These conditions have forced Haiti to become the poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean (with a rate of 60%); It also has one of the highest income inequality percentages in the world and 44% of its population suffers from acute food insecurity.
Likewise, in recent years the country has been marked by political instability and the great natural disasters, since only in 2021 did its citizens experience the assassination of their president, Jovenel Moïse, and a few weeks later a 7.2 magnitude earthquake, which left more than 2,200 dead and damage that still remains. They have not been able to recover.
