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 increased by 3.3 percent compared to March and was down one percent compared to April last year.
Meanwhile, in March the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa decreased by 4.9 percent compared to February and was up by 7.1 percent compared to the same month of 2015, while the index for exported products of iron and steel decreased by one percent month on month and was down 13.9 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in March this year decreased by 3.3 percent month on month and was down 8.3 percent year on year.