At 1608 GMT, the rand traded at 18.9800 against the U.S. dollar, about 0.4% stronger than its previous close.
The dollar was down about 0.25% against a basket of global currencies, after new data including U.S. retail sales and jobless claims kept the Federal Reserve on track to start cutting interest rates mid-year.
There were no local economic data releases in South Africa, and President Cyril Ramaphosa gave little news in his response to a parliamentary debate on his state of the nation address.
The president used the speech last week to play up his party's achievements in an election year, but he did not give much detail on his plans to address major challenges like power shortages and a logistics crisis.
On Thursday he said that he planned to sign a National Health Insurance bill that is on his desk, but did not say when.
On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index closed 0.43% higher. South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was stronger, with the yield down 12 basis points to 10.045%.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning and Nellie Peyton; Editing by Kim Coghill)
