At 1611 GMT, the rand traded at 18.1650 to the dollar, 0.28% weaker than its previous close but still an improvement on the levels it had reached late last month.
The dollar was up about 0.5% against a basket of global currencies.
There were no local economic data releases on Thursday. Investors will be looking at S&P Global's South Africa PMI survey due on Friday to see how the economy fared in February.
"Notwithstanding the ongoing high degree of load-shedding that has detracted massively from economic growth, the ZAR has recovered from its worst levels, at one stage breaking below 18.1000," said ETM Analytics in a research note.
"How much further the recovery runs will depend on what risk appetite does in the next two days."
On the stock market, the Top-40 index and the broader all-share index were both down about 1.4%.
The government's benchmark 2030 bond was weaker, with the yield up 8.5 basis points to 10.175%.
(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian and Nellie Peyton; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Sharon Singleton)
