The Turkish lira weakened further this morning, May 16, against the US dollar, with the $/TRY exchange rate increasing to 1.83, while the euro has lost weight again, with the €/$ exchange rate dropping to 1.268. With the weakening of the euro against the US dollar, European long steel export offers have now become more advantageous compared to Turkish offers. Italian and Spanish
rebar export offers are currently standing at €500/mt FOB and, given that these offers equal $635/mt FOB on dollar basis with the current exchange rate, European offers are approximately $10-15/mt lower as compared to Turkish
rebar offers at $645-650/mt FOB.
Lower
rebar prices from
Europe may affect Turkish
rebar exports negatively particularly to the North and South American markets, which received 15 percent of
Turkey's total
rebar exports in Q1. As the euro is expected to lose more against the US dollar, European
rebar offers may then drop even below €500/mt FOB. In this event,
Turkey's
rebar exports to
South America and
North Africa may lose ground against the more attractive European prices.