At 1525 GMT, the rand traded at 17.2050 against the dollar, over 0.4% weaker than its previous close. The dollar was about 0.3% firmer against a basket of major currencies.
The SARB will announce its rate decision on Thursday, with 11 of the 20 economists polled by Reuters predicting a 50 basis point (bps) hike to 7.50%. Eight forecast a 25 bps increase and one no change.
Data last week showed December consumer inflation slowed to 7.2% year-on-year from 7.4% the previous month, in line with analysts' forecasts but still well above the central bank's 3%-6% target range.
Most economists polled by Reuters see no further rate hikes after this week.
The rand lost more than 1% against the dollar last week on investor concerns over a power crisis that has led to daily electricity outages this month.
On Monday, struggling utility Eskom said in a statement that the outages would remain at "Stage 4" from 4 p.m. local time (1400 GMT) until 5 a.m. and "Stage 3" from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. the following day until further notice.
Almost half of Eskom's 46,000 megawatt (MW) nominal generating capacity is currently offline because of breakdowns or repairs. Stage 4 means up to 4,000 MW of capacity needs to be shed from the national grid, resulting in about six hours of power cuts a day for many households.
The government's benchmark 2030 bond was little changed on Monday, with the yield down 1 basis point at 9.78%. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's All-share index ended 1.08% higher, mirroring gains in global equities.
(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian and Alexander WinningEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
