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 6.4 percent compared to March and was up 10.8 percent compared to April 2016.
Meanwhile, in March this year the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa decreased by 1.6 percent compared to February and was up by 1.5 percent compared to the same month of 2016, while the index for exported products of iron and steel increased by 5.6 percent month on month and was up 37.8 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in March this year increased by 5.8 percent month on month and was up 7.3 percent year on year.