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 decreased by 1.4 percent compared to June and was up 2.3 percent compared to July 2016.
Meanwhile, in June this year the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa decreased by 7.2 percent compared to May and was down by 6.8 percent compared to the same month of 2016, while the index for exported products of iron and steel decreased by 4.1 percent month on month and was up 16.1 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in June this year decreased by 6.4 percent month on month and was down 4.6 percent year on year.