Manufacturing production for July increased by 7.5 percent on an annual basis after growing a revised 9.3 percent the previous month, Statistics SA said on Wednesday.

July's figure was higher than market expectations of about six percent.

"Over the month, output in most industries either edged up slightly or declined modestly off the high base set the month before," Nedbank Group's economic unit said.

"The only exceptions were manufacturers of textiles, wood products, printing, rubber and motor vehicles, where output rose by more than 4.0 percent over the month."

Over the year, the big increases in output came predominantly from the export-orientated industries.

Nedbank said manufacturing production was expected to slow further in the months ahead, mainly reflecting the impact of a higher base in the second half of last year, softer global growth, a strong rand and subdued domestic spending.

"July's manufacturing production figures also suggest that the local recovery is losing some momentum and the economy is likely to grow at a slower pace in the second half of the year."

Given the fragile growth picture, a strong rand and subdued inflation, the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee was still expected to announce another 50 basis point cut in interest rates at the conclusion of the MPC meeting on Thursday, Nedbank said.