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 one percent compared to November and was up 7.8 percent compared to December 2013.
Meanwhile, in November last year the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa increased by 0.3 percent compared to October and was up 4.6 percent year on year, while the index for exported products of iron and steel decreased by 1.7 percent month on month and was up 4.3 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in November this year decreased by 0.7 percent month on month and was up 9.7 percent year on year.