Currency Update for Steel Trading Nations

In the month since this analysis was last published, the US dollar has strengthened against 12 of the 16 nations that we consider to be major players in either the iron ore market or in steel product trade or both. Most notably, the Russian Rouble and the South African Rand have declined by 4.7 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively. The Turkish Lira has declined by a further 2.5 percent. The currencies of Brazil, Canada and Mexico are each down in the region of 1.5 percent. In this one month analysis, the notable exception is the Japanese Yen which has recovered by 2.4 percent. In the last 7 days these trends have reversed with 15 of the 16 currencies under examination here, strengthening against the US $. Most notably the Turkish Lira and the Australian Dollar have bounced back by 2.1 percent and 1.9 percent (Table 1).