According to the latest data released by Statistics South Africa, in January this year the country's producer price index (PPI) for the basic iron and steel industry decreased by 0.7 percent compared to December and was down 6.6 percent compared to January last year.
Meanwhile, in December the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa decreased by 0.9 percent compared to November and was up by 9.6 percent compared to the same month of 2014, while the index for exported products of iron and steel decreased by 0.8 percent month on month and was down 11.6 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in December last year decreased by 0.1 percent month on month and was down 9.4 percent year on year.