US Dollar to Singapore Dollar exchange rate history 1981 to 2026: the basket band
One US Dollar bought 2.1138 SGD in 1981 and 1.2786 SGD in 2026. The basket band. The series covers 46 years of annual data.
- 2026 avg
- 1.2786
- year to date
- Highest avg
- 2.2009
- 1985
- Lowest avg
- 1.2492
- 2012
- Traded range
- 1.2007 to 2.3085
- low 2011, high 1985
Source: Federal Reserve H.10 (DEXSIUS). Latest daily observation 2026-10-30.
Annual averages of daily observations.
USD/SGD since 1981
US Dollar to Singapore Dollar averaged 2.1138 SGD in 1981 and 1.3065 SGD in 2025, 38.2% lower across 45 complete years.
The annual average has ranged from 1.2492 in 2012 to 2.2009 in 1985. On individual trading days the series reached 1.2007 and 2.3085, a ratio of 1.9 to 1.
What moves USD/SGD
USD: The US dollar is the world's main reserve currency and the base leg for most foreign exchange trading.
SGD: Singapore manages the Singapore dollar against a basket of currencies using a policy band rather than a single interest rate.
For USD/SGD, the USD leg responds to Federal Reserve policy, US inflation and Treasury yields, safe-haven demand, while the SGD leg responds to Monetary Authority of Singapore policy band, regional trade, global risk appetite. The exchange rate is the market's attempt to balance the two sets of forces.
How Singapore manages the Singapore dollar
USD/SGD includes a managed currency. Singapore manages the Singapore dollar against a basket of currencies using a policy band rather than a single interest rate.
A managed float is not a fixed peg. The central bank sets a reference rate and intervenes to limit volatility, but the market still sets the level over time. That produces long stretches of stability punctuated by step changes when policy shifts.
Singapore targets a trade-weighted basket rather than a single currency, using a policy band instead of a policy rate. In this series the average moved -38.2% over 45 complete years, with a traded range from 1.2007 to 2.3085.
The five largest USD/SGD moves
Ranked by absolute year-end change, the five largest moves were 1997 (+20.5%), 1994 (-9.3%), 1990 (-8.5%), 2010 (-8.2%), 1987 (-8.1%). The biggest was 1997, when the rate moved from 1.3995 to 1.6860, a change of 20.5%.
Across 45 complete years the pair rose in 19 and fell in 25. The average annual change was -0.9% with a standard deviation of 5.4 percentage points, which is one way to compare its volatility with other pairs.
USD/SGD by decade
Grouped by decade, the annual average was 2.1056 in 1981-1989 and 1.3381 in 2020-2026. The widest decade-to-decade change was -24.0% between 1981-1989 and 1990-1999, when the average moved from 2.1056 to 1.5994.
The final bucket, 2020-2026, is a partial decade and includes the year-to-date 2026 average. The table below shows every bucket with its high and low, so the short-run moves and the long-run level can be read together.
How to read the USD/SGD data
The annual figures are averages of the daily observations in Federal Reserve H.10 (DEXSIUS). Highs and lows are the most extreme single observations in each calendar year, not intraday highs. No figure on this page is estimated or interpolated.
USD/SGD annual average, 1981 to 2026
Annual average with the full trading range for each year. average high–low range
Source: Federal Reserve H.10 (DEXSIUS). Figures are annual averages of daily observations.
USD to SGD exchange rate by year
Every year since 1981: annual average, the year high and low, the year-end rate, and the change on the previous year.
| Year | Average | High | Low | Year end | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 2.1138 | 2.1880 | 2.0430 | 2.0450 | n/a |
| 1982 | 2.1406 | 2.2210 | 2.0440 | 2.1125 | +3.3% |
| 1983 | 2.1137 | 2.1560 | 2.0610 | 2.1220 | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 2.1327 | 2.1810 | 2.0565 | 2.1810 | +2.8% |
| 1985 | 2.2009 | 2.3085 | 2.0850 | 2.1050 | -3.5% |
| 1986 | 2.1783 | 2.2700 | 2.1140 | 2.1725 | +3.2% |
| 1987 | 2.1060 | 2.1740 | 1.9961 | 1.9970 | -8.1% |
| 1988 | 2.0133 | 2.0545 | 1.9380 | 1.9450 | -2.6% |
| 1989 | 1.9511 | 1.9875 | 1.8910 | 1.9025 | -2.2% |
| 1990 | 1.8134 | 1.9090 | 1.7005 | 1.7400 | -8.5% |
| 1991 | 1.7283 | 1.7940 | 1.6210 | 1.6210 | -6.8% |
| 1992 | 1.6294 | 1.6805 | 1.5900 | 1.6450 | +1.5% |
| 1993 | 1.6158 | 1.6620 | 1.5590 | 1.6085 | -2.2% |
| 1994 | 1.5275 | 1.6130 | 1.4585 | 1.4585 | -9.3% |
| 1995 | 1.4171 | 1.4655 | 1.3900 | 1.4150 | -3.0% |
| 1996 | 1.4100 | 1.4310 | 1.3905 | 1.3995 | -1.1% |
| 1997 | 1.4857 | 1.7060 | 1.3990 | 1.6860 | +20.5% |
| 1998 | 1.6722 | 1.7960 | 1.5810 | 1.6510 | -2.1% |
| 1999 | 1.6951 | 1.7370 | 1.6565 | 1.6670 | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 1.7250 | 1.7600 | 1.6535 | 1.7315 | +3.9% |
| 2001 | 1.7930 | 1.8540 | 1.7275 | 1.8470 | +6.7% |
| 2002 | 1.7908 | 1.8525 | 1.7310 | 1.7352 | -6.0% |
| 2003 | 1.7429 | 1.7838 | 1.6990 | 1.6990 | -2.1% |
| 2004 | 1.6902 | 1.7291 | 1.6308 | 1.6319 | -4.0% |
| 2005 | 1.6639 | 1.7058 | 1.6180 | 1.6628 | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 1.5882 | 1.6521 | 1.5338 | 1.5338 | -7.8% |
| 2007 | 1.5065 | 1.5439 | 1.4360 | 1.4360 | -6.4% |
| 2008 | 1.4140 | 1.5310 | 1.3472 | 1.4377 | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 1.4543 | 1.5565 | 1.3795 | 1.4035 | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 1.3629 | 1.4228 | 1.2824 | 1.2885 | -8.2% |
| 2011 | 1.2565 | 1.3135 | 1.2007 | 1.2948 | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 1.2492 | 1.2973 | 1.2159 | 1.2214 | -5.7% |
| 2013 | 1.2511 | 1.2831 | 1.2203 | 1.2622 | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 1.2665 | 1.3244 | 1.2376 | 1.3244 | +4.9% |
| 2015 | 1.3746 | 1.4337 | 1.3171 | 1.4166 | +7.0% |
| 2016 | 1.3800 | 1.4522 | 1.3366 | 1.4465 | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 1.3802 | 1.4498 | 1.3363 | 1.3363 | -7.6% |
| 2018 | 1.3486 | 1.3845 | 1.3037 | 1.3623 | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 1.3641 | 1.3906 | 1.3446 | 1.3446 | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 1.3800 | 1.4605 | 1.3214 | 1.3214 | -1.7% |
| 2021 | 1.3438 | 1.3713 | 1.3178 | 1.3520 | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 1.3787 | 1.4379 | 1.3404 | 1.3404 | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 1.3428 | 1.3744 | 1.3095 | 1.3193 | -1.6% |
| 2024 | 1.3363 | 1.3662 | 1.2807 | 1.3662 | +3.5% |
| 2025 | 1.3065 | 1.3725 | 1.2719 | 1.2859 | -5.9% |
| 2026 YTD | 1.2786 | 1.2977 | 1.2616 | 1.2776 | -0.7% |
1981–2026 · 45 complete calendar years. Annual figures are averages of available daily observations. 2026 is year to date: the average is based on 209 published trading days through 2026-10-30.
Five largest USD/SGD moves
The largest absolute year-end changes in the published series, using complete calendar years only.
- 1997 +20.5% 1.3995 to 1.6860
Year-end rate moved from 1.3995 to 1.6860, a change of 20.5%.
- 1994 -9.3% 1.6085 to 1.4585
Year-end rate moved from 1.6085 to 1.4585, a change of 9.3%.
- 1990 -8.5% 1.9025 to 1.7400
Year-end rate moved from 1.9025 to 1.7400, a change of 8.5%.
- 2010 -8.2% 1.4035 to 1.2885
Year-end rate moved from 1.4035 to 1.2885, a change of 8.2%.
- 1987 -8.1% 2.1725 to 1.9970
Year-end rate moved from 2.1725 to 1.9970, a change of 8.1%.
USD/SGD by decade
Annual averages grouped into decade buckets. The first and last buckets may cover fewer than ten years.
| Period | Average | High | Low | vs previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–1989 | 2.1056 | 2.3085 | 1.8910 | n/a |
| 1990–1999 | 1.5994 | 1.9090 | 1.3900 | -24.0% |
| 2000–2009 | 1.6369 | 1.8540 | 1.3472 | +2.3% |
| 2010–2019 | 1.3234 | 1.4522 | 1.2007 | -19.2% |
| 2020–2026 | 1.3381 | 1.4605 | 1.2616 | +1.1% |
Average of the annual averages in each period. The first and last rows cover partial decades.
USD/SGD history: the years that moved the rate
Each event below is dated and tied to one of the currencies in this pair.
- 1997 1997-07-02
Thai baht floats and the Asian crisis spreads
Thailand abandoned the baht's dollar peg on 2 July 1997. Pressure spread to other Asian currencies, including the Korean won, Malaysian ringgit, Singapore dollar and Taiwan dollar.
- 2008 2008-09-15
Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy
The collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered a global financial crisis, a flight into the US dollar and extreme volatility across currency markets.
- 2020 2020-03-15
Pandemic triggers a global dash for cash
The COVID-19 shock caused a worldwide sell-off and a surge in demand for US dollars, followed by large central bank intervention and emergency rate cuts.
USD/SGD history: common questions
What was the USD/SGD rate in 1981?
One USD averaged 2.1138 SGD in 1981, with a range of 2.0430 to 2.1880 and a year-end rate of 2.0450.
What is the highest USD/SGD rate on record?
The highest annual average was 2.2009 in 1985. The highest single observation was 2.3085 in 1985.
What was the biggest single-year move in USD/SGD?
1997 was the largest, at +20.5%. The year-end rate moved from 1.3995 to 1.6860.
How volatile has USD/SGD been?
Across 45 complete years the average annual change was -0.9% with a standard deviation of 5.4 percentage points. The largest drawdown was 44.0%, from 1984 to 2012.
What is the lowest USD/SGD rate on record?
The lowest annual average was 1.2492 in 2012. The lowest single observation was 1.2007 in 2011.
What is the USD/SGD rate in 2026?
The 2026 average is 1.2786 SGD per USD, based on the year to date. The latest complete year, 2025, averaged 1.3065.
Query any USD/SGD rate since 1981
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