At 1557 GMT, the rand traded at 16.4050 against the dollar, up 0.33% from its previous close.
The rand fell around 1.6% against the dollar on Monday in risk-off trade. The rand tends to take its cue from overseas drivers in the absence of major domestic economic data.
On global markets, the safe-haven U.S. dollar was trading little changed at 106.500 as world economic indicators stoked recession fears.
The minutes from last month's Fed meeting, which will be released on Wednesday, will likely give investors further clues about the U.S. interest rate trajectory.
Meanwhile, South Africa-focused investors will look to June retail sales figures for indications of the economy's second-quarter performance. Last week June manufacturing and mining numbers came in worse than expected, adding to evidence the economy was struggling to gain momentum.
Stocks on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) rose, riding on buoyant earnings updates by miners BHP Group Ltd and Exxaro Resources Ltd. Helped by a boost in their profits due to soaring coal prices, they ended up 6.40% and 5.49% respectively.
Overall on the JSE, the All-share index closed 1.08% higher, while the Top-40 index ended up 1.1%.
The South African government's benchmark 2030 bond was weaker, with the yield up 8 basis points to 10.080%.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning, Nqobile Dludla and Bhargav AcharyaEditing by Peter Graff and Bernadette Baum)
