According to the latest data released by Statistics South Africa, in December last year the country's producer price index (PPI) for the basic iron and steel industry increased by 0.5 percent compared to November and was up 12.6 percent compared to December 2012.
The PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa in December last year increased by 1.5 percent compared to the previous month and was up 11 percent year on year. Meanwhile, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic iron and steel in the month in question remained stable on both year-on-year and month-on-month basis.