According to the latest data released by Statistics South Africa, in August this year the country's producer price index (PPI) for the basic iron and steel industry decreased by 0.5 percent compared to July and was down five percent compared to August 2014.
Meanwhile, in July the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa decreased by 0.2 percent compared to June and was up by 9.8 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, while the index for exported products of iron and steel decreased by 2.9 percent month on month and was down 6.1 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in July this year decreased by 0.4 percent month on month and was down 7.5 percent year on year.