Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) is a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of International Monetary Fund members. SDRs have the ISO 4217 currency code XDR. IMF redirects here. ... ISO 4217 is the international standard describing three letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ...

Definition

SDRs are defined in terms of a basket of major currencies used in international trade and finance. At present, the currencies in the basket are the euro, the pound sterling, the Japanese yen and the United States dollar. Before the introduction of the euro in 1999, the Deutsche mark and the French franc were included in the basket. The amounts of each currency making up one SDR are chosen in accordance with the relative importance of the currency in international trade and finance. The determination of the currencies in the SDR basket and their amounts is made by the IMF Executive Board every five years. For other uses, see Euro (disambiguation). ... GBP redirects here. ... Japanese 10 yen coin (obverse) showing Phoenix Hall of Byodoin Yen is the currency used in Japan. ... USD redirects here. ... ISO 4217 Code DEM User(s) Germany, Montenegro, Kosovo ERM Since 13 March 1979 Fixed rate since 31 December 1998 Replaced by €, non cash 1 January 1999 Replaced by €, cash 1 January 2002 € = 1. ... ISO 4217 Code FRF User(s) Monaco, Andorra, France except New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna ERM Since 13 March 1979 Fixed rate since 31 December 1998 Replaced by €, non cash 1 January 1999 Replaced by €, cash 1 January 2002 € = 6. ...

The exact amounts of each currency in the basket, and their approximate relative contributions to the value of an SDR, in the past were and currently are:^[1]

Composition of basket (value of 1 XDR)

Period	USD	DEM	JPY	GBP	FRF
1981–1985	0.540 (42%)	0.460 (19%)	34.0 (13%)	0.0710 (13%)	0.740 (13%)
1986–1990	0.452 (42%)	0.527 (19%)	33.4 (15%)	0.0893 (12%)	1.020 (12%)
1991–1995	0.572 (40%)	0.453 (21%)	31.8 (17%)	0.0812 (11%)	0.800 (11%)
1996–1998	0.582 (39%)	0.446 (21%)	27.2 (18%)	0.1050 (11%)	0.813 (11%)
Period	USD	EUR	JPY	GBP
1999–2000	0.5820 (39%)	0.3519 (32%)	27.2 (18%)	0.1050 (11%)
2001–2005	0.5770 (45%)	0.4260 (29%)	21.0 (15%)	0.0984 (11%)
2006–2010	0.6320 (44%)	0.4100 (34%)	18.4 (11%)	0.0903 (11%)

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... DEM can mean: Deutsche Mark diethyl malonate Digital elevation model Department of Environmental Management, now part of the Department of Conservation and Recreation in Massachusetts Democrat Slang for democrat, often derogatory. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan. ... A 1,000 yen note, featuring the portrait of Natsume Soseki. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... GBP may be: short for Game Boy Player the ISO currency code for the British Pound Sterling. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Though abolished as a legal coin by Louis XIII in 1641 in favor of the gold louis or écu, the term franc continued to be used in common parlance for the livre tournois. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... EUR is an initialism that may mean: Euro, the currency; Esposizione Universale Roma, a neighbourhood of Rome built for the World Fair Esposizione universale (1942). Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (Erasmus University of Rotterdam, the Netherlands) This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid... Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan. ... A 1,000 yen note, featuring the portrait of Natsume Soseki. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... GBP may be: short for Game Boy Player the ISO currency code for the British Pound Sterling. ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... This article is about the year. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2010 (MMX) will be a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Purpose

SDRs are used as a unit of account by the IMF and several other international organizations. A few countries peg their currencies against SDRs, and it is also used to denominate some private international financial instruments. For example, the Warsaw convention, which regulates liability for international carriage of persons, luggage or goods by air uses SDRs to value the maximum liability of the carrier. The Warsaw Convention is an international convention which regulates liability for international carriage of persons, luggage or goods performed by aircraft for reward. ...

In Europe, the Euro is displacing the SDR as a basis to set values of various currencies, including Latvian lats. This is a result of the ERM II convergence criteria which now apply to states entering the European Union. The Eurozone (also called Euro Area, Eurosystem or Euroland) refers to the European Union member states that have adopted the euro currency union. ... Currently there are several currencies pegged to the euro, some with fluctuation bands around a central rate and others with no fluctuations allowed around the central rate. ... The 5 lats coin, used before WWII, becamed a popular symbol of independence during the Soviet era The lats (in Latvian: lats, plural lati, the ISO 4217 currency code: LVL) is the official currency of Latvia. ...  Eurozone countries  ERM II countries  other EU countries  unilaterally adopted euro The European Exchange Rate Mechanism, ERM, was a system introduced by the European Community in March 1979, as part of the European Monetary System (EMS), to reduce exchange rate variability and achieve monetary stability in Europe, in preparation for... This is an article about European Politics, Convergence criteria is also a mathematical term regarding series Convergence criteria, also known as the Maastricht criteria, are the criteria for European Union member states to enter the third stage of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and adopt the euro. ...

SDRs basically were created to replace gold in large international transactions. Being that under a strict (international) gold standard, the quantity of gold worldwide is relatively fixed, and the economies of all participating IMF members as an aggregate are growing, a need arose to increase the supply of the basic unit or standard proportionately. Thus SDRs, or "paper gold", are credits that nations with balance of trade surpluses can 'draw' upon nations with balance of trade deficits. For other uses, see Gold standard (disambiguation). ... The balance of trade encompasses the activity of exports and imports, like the work of this cargo ship going through the Panama Canal. ...

So-called "paper gold" is little more than an accounting transaction within a ledger of accounts, which eliminates the logistical and security problems of shipping gold back and forth across borders to settle national accounts.

Joseph Stiglitz has argued that usage by central banks of SDRs as foreign exchange reserve is the prelude to the creation of a single world currency.^{[citation needed]} Joseph Stiglitz (born February 9, 1943) is an American economist, author and winner of Nobel Prize for economics ( 2001). ... A central bank is an entity responsible for monetary policy of its country (or in the case of the EU, group of member countries). ... Foreign exchange reserves are the foreign currency deposits held by national banks of different nations. ... The euro and US dollar are by far the most used currencies in terms of global reserves. ...

Other uses

SDRs are the basis for the international fees of the Universal Postal Union, responsible for the world-wide postal system. As a spinoff from the postal services, SDRs are also used to transfer roaming charge files between international mobile telecoms operators and charges for some radio communications. The Universal Postal Union (UPU, French: Union postale universelle) is an international organization that coordinates postal policies between member nations, and hence the world-wide postal system. ... A British pillar box The postal system is a system by which written documents typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages containing other matter, are delivered to destinations around the world. ... Roaming is a general term in wireless telecommunications that refers to the extending of connectivity service in a location that is different from the home location where the service was registered. ...

SDRs limit carrier liability on international flights (see Montreal Convention, Warsaw Convention), as well as ship owner liability for cargo damages and oil pollution. The Montreal Convention is a treaty adopted by a meeting of ICAO member states in 1999. ... The Warsaw Convention is an international convention which regulates liability for international carriage of persons, luggage or goods performed by aircraft for reward. ...

Value

The value of one SDR in terms of United States dollars is determined daily by the IMF, based on the exchange rates of the currencies making up the basket, as quoted at noon at the London market. (If the London market is closed, New York market rates are used; if both markets are closed, European Central Bank reference rates are used.) This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the state. ... Headquarters Coordinates , , Established 1 January 1998 President Jean-Claude Trichet Central Bank of Austria, Belgium, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain Currency Euro ISO 4217 Code EUR Reserves €43bn directly, €338bn through the Eurosystem (including gold deposits). ...

The latest value of the SDR in terms of the US dollar is available from the IMF, updated daily.

See also

• Digital gold currency
• World Currency Unit

Digital gold currency (or DGC) is a form of electronic money denominated in gold weight. ... The World Currency Unit (WCU) is an indexed unit of account (unit of account) that stands for a unit of stable global purchasing power. ...

References

1. ^ Antweiler, Werner. Special Drawing Rights: The SDR Fact Sheet (HTML). University of British Columbia. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.

2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• FAQ: What is an SDR?
• The U.S. dollar-value of the SDR is posted here daily.
• Special Drawing Rights fact sheet