South African producer price index falls year-on-year in March

South Africa’s producer price index for the month of March dropped to 5.2 percent year-on-year from February’s 5.6 percent. On a sequential basis, the PPI for final manufactured goods rose 0.3 percent, as compared with the 0.6 percent in the prior month. Beverages, food products and tobacco products, coke, chemical, petroleum, rubber and plastic products mainly contributed to the 5.2 percent year-on-year rise in producer prices.

PPI for intermediate manufactured goods rose 6.8 percent, as compared with the 7 percent rise in February. On a sequential basis, the PPI for intermediate manufactured goods rose 1 percent. Rubber and plastic products, sawmilling and wood, and basic and fabricated metals mainly contributed to the annual rise. Meanwhile, chemicals, plastic products and rubber mainly contributed to the monthly rise.

In the meantime, producer price index for mining came in at 6 percent year-on-year in March, as compared with 12.2 percent in February. On a month-on-month basis, the producer price index for mining dropped 4.4 percent.