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 decreased by 1.7 percent compared to February and was down 6.4 percent compared to March last year.
Meanwhile, in February the PPI for exported basic iron and steel in South Africa decreased by 1.6 percent compared to January and was up by 14.1 percent compared to the same month of 2015, while the index for exported products of iron and steel increased by 0.9 percent month on month and was down 12.8 percent year on year. In addition, in South Africa the PPI for imported basic metals in February this year increased by 1.1 percent month on month and was down 5.7 percent year on year.