According to the latest data released by Statistics South Africa, in February this year the country's producer price index (PPI) for the basic iron and steel industry increased by 1.1 percent compared to January and was down 5.6 percent compared to February last year.
Meanwhile, in January the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa increased by 7.3 percent compared to December and was up by 15.1 percent compared to the same month of 2015, while the index for exported products of iron and steel increased by 1.4 percent month on month and was down 12.5 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in January this year decreased by 2.3 percent month on month and was down 9.7 percent year on year.