The US dollar has continued to strengthen against the Turkish lira, with the exchange rate hitting 1.90 this week and this has caused domestic wire rod prices on lira basis to rise.
Last week, mesh quality wire rod prices in Turkey, excluding the regions of Iskenderun and Thrace, were standing at TRY 1,530-1,570/mt ($683-700/mt + VAT) ex-works, inclusive of VAT. This week prices have increased to TRY 1,550-1,590/mt ($691-709/mt + VAT) ex-works.
Approaching the end of December, there have still been no wire rod offers from the region of Thrace to Istanbul, while changes in the US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate have affected buyers' wire rod bookings negatively. Some final product manufacturers have delayed their purchases with the arrival of cargoes from previously concluded import transactions, while some others have focused only on meeting their urgent needs.
Lately, Iraq and Iran, major export markets for final product (welded wire mesh, nail) manufacturers in Turkey's Iskenderun region, have now been replaced by markets such as Qatar, Sudan and East Africa.
In the meantime, Turkish mills' wire rod export offers are standing at $695-705/mt FOB, for January shipments. However, amid the increased price levels, some wire rod buyers in foreign markets are now adopting a wait-and-see stance, while some others are purchasing only to meet their urgent needs ahead of New Year holiday.
$1 = TRY 1.90