According to the latest data released by Statistics South Africa, in June this year the country's producer price index (PPI) for the basic iron and steel industry decreased by 1.9 percent compared to May and was down 7.4 percent compared to June 2014.
Meanwhile, in May the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa increased by three percent compared to April and was up by 5.4 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, while the index for exported products of iron and steel decreased by 1.5 percent month on month and was up 0.7 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in May this year decreased by 1.8 percent month on month and was down 4.5 percent year on year.