Manufacturing production snapped a three-month declining streak in July, edging up 1.1% year on year on stronger output from the food and beverages division, as well as petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic, official data showed on Thursday.The positive number followed annual contractions of 1.8%, 4.6% and 3% in June, May and April, respectively, Stats SA said.The largest positive contributions were from the food and beverages division, where output was up 4.1% and contributed one percentage point to the overall number, while petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products rose 3.2% and added 0.6 percentage points. The wood and wood products, paper, publishing and printing division was the largest negative contributor, dropping 7.3% year on year and accounting for minus 0.7 percentage points.Seasonally adjusted manufacturing production increased by 2.2% month on month in July compared with gains of 0.8% in June and 1.2% in May.In the three months from May to July, output edged up 1% compared with the previous three months, with six of the 10 manufacturing divisions reporting positive growth rates.Despite July’s somewhat favourable outcome, confidence among manufacturers, however, remains subdued and dipped further in the third quarter, Investec economist Lara Hodes noted.“Advance indications provided by August’s Absa PMI survey results note ‘subdued demand, weak consumer confidence and particularly soft spending on non-essential goods’, with business activity and new sales orders slipping once again,” she said.“The recent increase in global oil prices is expected to add further pressure to costs.”For now, the July output data is a rare bright spark for the factory sector this year, after it contracted in the first quarter — helping limit economic growth for the period to just 0.5% — and shrank 1.8% in the second quarter, contributing to a 0.2% dip in GDP.Business Day