Special Drawing Rights
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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.
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[edit] 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. 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. The weights of the currencies in the basket in the past were and currently are:
- 1981–1985: USD 42%, DEM 19%, JPY 13%, GBP 13%, FRF 13%
- 1986–1990: USD 42%, DEM 19%, JPY 15%, GBP 12%, FRF 12%
- 1991–1995: USD 40%, DEM 21%, JPY 17%, GBP 11%, FRF 11%
- 1996–2000: USD 39%, DEM 21%, JPY 18%, GBP 11%, FRF 11%
- 2001–2005: USD 45%, EUR 29%, JPY 15%, GBP 11%
- 2006–2010: USD 44%, EUR 34%, JPY 11%, GBP 11%
[edit] 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, Air New Zealand uses SDR to value their baggage liability limits.
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 is growing, a need arose to increase the supply of the basic unit or standard proprotionately. Thus SDRs, or "paper gold", are credits that nations with balance of trade surpluses can 'draw' upon nations with balance of trade deficits.
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.
[edit] 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.)
The latest value of the SDR in terms of the US dollar is available from the IMF, updated daily.
