According to the latest data released by Statistics South Africa, in March this year the country's producer price index (PPI) for the basic iron and steel industry increased by 0.9 percent compared to February and was up 11.7 percent compared to March 2013.
Meanwhile, in February this year the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa increased by 3.2 percent compared to January and was up 18.6 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in February this year increased by 0.4 percent month on month and was up 13.7 percent year on year.