According to the latest data released by Statistics South Africa, in April this year the country's producer price index (PPI) for the basic iron and steel industry decreased by 2.4 percent compared to March and was down 3.2 percent compared to April 2014.
Meanwhile, in March the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa increased by 1.4 percent compared to February and was down 2.1 percent year on year, while the index for exported products of iron and steel increased by 0.3 percent month on month and was up 6.6 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in March this year decreased by 0.5 percent month on month and was down one percent year on year.