According to the latest data released by Statistics South Africa, in July this year the country's producer price index (PPI) for the basic iron and steel industry increased by 0.5 percent compared to June and was down 5.8 percent compared to July 2014.
Meanwhile, in June the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa increased by 1.1 percent compared to May and was up by 9.5 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, while the index for exported products of iron and steel decreased by two percent month on month and was down 1.9 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in June this year decreased by one percent month on month and was down 5.9 percent year on year.