According to the latest data released by Statistics South Africa, in August this year the country's producer price index (PPI) for domestic output in the manufacturing sector increased by 0.6 percent compared to the previous month and was up 4.2 percent year on year.
In August, the PPI for the South African domestic basic iron and steel industry was up 2.5 percent compared to July this year and down 0.7 percent compared to August 2011.
The PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa in the given month rose 0.8 percent compared to the previous month and was down 3.1 percent compared to August 2011. Meanwhile, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic iron and steel remained stable on both year-on-year and month-on-month basis.