According to the data released on March 29 by Statistics South Africa, in February this year the producer price index (PPI) for South African domestic industry rose by 0.9 percent over January and was up 8.3 percent year on year.
In February, the PPI for the domestic basic iron and steel industry fell by 2.7 percent month on month and was up 0.8 percent compared to February 2011. On the other hand, during the given month the PPI for domestic manufacture of metal products decreased by 0.7 percent from the previous month and was up 9.1 percent year on year.
On the other hand, the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in February fell by 2.7 percent month on month and was down 2.4 percent compared to February 2011, while during the given month the PPI for exported metal products increased by 1.1 percent from the previous month and was up 4.9 percent year on year.