The Singapore Dollar (or SGD) is the official currency of Singapore. The Sing dollar exchange rate has been relatively stable vis-ŕ-vis the US dollar in the 21st century. Since 2000, the Singapore dollar has ranged between 1.63 SGD and 1.83 SGD per 1 USD.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) manages the Singapore dollar against an undisclosed trade-weighted basket of
currencies. As Singapore is a very small and open economy, the exchange rate is the central bank’s key tool for maintaining price
stability. The Singapore dollar has maintained a relatively strong position, in trade-weighted terms, except for periods when
the economy has been under significant pressure.
Evolution of the Singapore Dollar
The Singapore dollar was first issued after the monetary union of Brunei and Malaysia broke in 1965. It is still
exchangeable with the Brunei dollar.
The Singapore dollar was initially pegged at 60:7 with the British pound (GBP). It was briefly pegged to the US dollar in the
early 1970s and was later pegged to an undisclosed basket of foreign currencies.
Features of the SGD
The most prominent features of the SGD are:
- The Singapore dollar is one of the most popular Asian currencies.
- It is freely convertible and its value is decided by market forces. The currency is supervised by the country’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This 'managed float system' proved beneficial for the Singapore currency during the Asian financial crises and, hence, was subsequently adopted by other Asian economies.
- Singapore’s revenue is largely dependent on international trade. Therefore, the country’s foreign exchange policies are fairly
lenient and there are no restrictions on the import and export of any currency.
Sing Dollar Exchange Rate
The Sing dollar exchange rate with respect to the US dollar has mostly fluctuated between SGD$ 1.5 and SGD$ 1.8 per 1 US$
since 2003. The figures stood at:
1.7422 (2003)
1.6902 (2004)
1.6644 (2005)
1.5889 (2006)
1.507 (2007)
1.4377 (2008)
Singapore dollar began weakening in early 2009 due to a decline in regional prices and reduced demand for market assets,
and its value floated around the SGD1.5/USD mark for the initial months of 2009.