Posted on 08 Dec 2025
Iran has introduced a more flexible foreign exchange mechanism for companies across the iron and steel value chain, allowing a portion of export revenue to be exchanged at market-based rates in the Central Bank’s “second hall”, Kallanish notes.
The change follows an agreement between the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade (MIMT) and the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), says the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (Imidro).
Under the revised directive, exporters of finished rolled products – including rebar, wire rod, hot rolled coil, cold rolled coil and coated sheet – may now sell up to 80% of their foreign-currency revenue in the second hall.
Exporters of billet and slab may route 60% of their earnings to the second hall, while sponge iron – direct reduced iron – and HBI exporters are allowed 50%. For raw materials, the proportions are lower: 30% for iron ore pellets and 20% for iron ore concentrate.
The US dollar is currently trading at around IRR 960,000 in the second hall, compared with IRR 700,000-710,000 in the first hall, where transactions occur at the regulated official rate, according to a sector participant.
“Products with higher added value have more incentives for export,” Imidro cites the deputy minister of industry, mines and trade as saying.
This tiered allocation reflects policy intent – the further upstream the product is in the value chain, the smaller the share eligible for sale at the market-based rate. Market observers note that the policy shift may enhance the competitiveness of finished and semi-finished steel exporters, though its effects on domestic supply, raw material pricing and foreign exchange liquidity will become clearer once larger volumes begin flowing through the second hall.
Iran operates a dual-channel foreign exchange framework consisting of the first hall and second hall. The first hall functions as the official market, where exporters must sell foreign currency at a regulated rate far below open-market levels. The second hall allows floating, negotiated pricing that more closely reflects real market conditions. Until now, most steel-value-chain exporters were restricted to the first hall, a system widely viewed as limiting revenues and dampening export motivation.
Source:Kallanish
