Page 47 - TURKRptMay20

The companies will invest a combined $1.5bn in the dam project, which will be developed at Egirdir Lake. At 482 square kilometres, it is the fourth largest lake in Turkey.
Turkish energy minister Fatih Donmez said on April 11 that while there had been a supply-and-demand balance of 100mn barrels per day before coronavirus (COVID-19), now there is a decline of 20mn bpd on the demand side​. This is owing to the stalled global transportation industry, since two-thirds of global crude output is consumed in transportation and the rest is used mostly in petrochemicals, he added.
Donmez told how earlier on April 10 OPEC and non-OPEC oil producing countries had agreed to curb their total output by 10mn bpd, which could later increase to 13-14mn bpd after more countries join in.
Gas prices also fluctuating​. The change in crude oil prices is usually reflected in natural gas prices in about six months’ time, according to market fundamentals, but Donmez said there was already fluctuation in gas prices now. Noting that there are usually long-term contracts in the natural gas market, rather than spot prices in crude oil, he said Turkey mostly purchases its gas via pipelines, but there are some liquefied natural gas (LNG) purchases as well. "There are countries that we buy LNG from. We buy from them when spot daily prices are affordable. However, there is fluctuation in those prices as well due to the contraction in demand," he explained.
9.1.2 ​Automotive sector news
Turkey’s automobile exports sank by 29% in March​ to a value of $2.1bn, data from business group UIB showed. The decline was attributed to the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Local carmakers’ shipments to the European Union, the largest export market for Turkey-assembled vehicles, fell 31% on an annual basis but, surprisingly, exports to Slovenia and Egypt increased by 14% and 5%, respectively.
Turkish auto companies sold $292mn worth of cars to Germany, marking a 25% y/y decline, while sales to France were down 46% y/y to $183mn and shipments to the UK fell by 26% y/y to $181mn.
Passenger car exports generated $789mn in revenues in March, representing a sharp 33% drop from a year earlier while bus and minibus exports plunged 44% y/y to $103mn.
Exports decreased by 10% y/y to stand at $6.98bn in the first quarter.
The Turkish auto industry’s exports amounted to $31bn last year; a figure local carmakers are unlikely to see in 2020.
On the other hand, the auto companies are not in a position to cover their export losses with domestic sales as Turkey is expected to experience strong volatility, which will hit an economy that was barely crawling back from its recession last year.
Automotive production in March shrank 22% y/y to 103,350 vehicles​, according to the Automotive Industry Association (OSD)​.
Some March auto sales growth, at 2% y/y, was seen in Turkey thanks to strong momentum recorded at the beginning of the month​ before the COVID-19 crisis took a grip on the country’s economy, data from the Automotive Distributors' Association (ODD) showed on April 2.
47​ TURKEY Country Report​ May 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com