At 1541 GMT, the rand traded at 18.2000 against the dollar, 0.6% firmer than its previous close.
The U.S. dollar index that measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.6% to 112.34.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 and the broader all-share indexes closed 0.2% higher.
Shares in Clicks rose over 5% after the pharmacy chain reported higher annual earnings, supported by pent-up demand for beauty products, medicines and vaccination programmes after the easing of COVID-19 lockdowns.
South African petrochemical firm Sasol was among the top fallers, down 8% after it declared force majeure on the supply and export of certain products because of a strike at state-owned logistics firm Transnet.
The government's benchmark 2030 bond was weaker in afternoon deals, with the yield rising 7.5 basis points to 10.945%.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning and Anait MiridzhanianEditing by Tomasz Janowski and Andrew Heavens)
