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 0.3 percent compared to November and was down 6.8 percent compared to December 2014.
Meanwhile, in November the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa increased by 3.5 percent compared to October and was up by 10.4 percent compared to the same month of 2014, while the index for exported products of iron and steel decreased by 1.2 percent month on month and was down 11.8 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in November last year increased by 0.5 percent month on month and was down 9.7 percent year on year.