In addition to the euro, the IMF uses the Japanese yen, the British pound sterling and the US dollar to calculate the value of the SDR. The IMF has replaced the currency amounts of the mark and the franc in the SDR valuation basket with equivalent amounts of the euro, based on the fixed conversion rates between the euro and the two previous currencies. Effective from January 1 this year, the value of the SDR will be the sum of the values of the following amounts of each currency: euro (France) 0.1239; euro (Germany) 0.2280; yen (Japan)27.200; pound sterling (Britain) 0.1050; dollar (U.S.) 0.5821.

The currency amounts have been rounded in line with the principles set out in the guidelines for the calculation of currency amounts in the SDR basket established by the IMF board. The financial instruments in the SDR interest rate basket -- the market yield of three-month treasury bills for France, Britain and the United States, the three-month interbank deposit rate for Germany and the three-month rate on certificates of deposit in Japan -- will remain unchanged although the French and German instruments will be expressed in euro.