At 1446 GMT, the rand traded at 14.3950 against the dollar, almost 1% firmer than its previous close as the dollar remained on the defensive.

The rand has notched up gains of more than 3% against the greenback since the start of Friday, when Fed Chair Jerome Powell gave a dovish speech that suggested the U.S. central bank was in no rush to raise interest rates.

Along with other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand has been supported by the Fed's ultra-loose policy. It moves regularly on shifts in expectations about when the Fed could start rolling back asset purchases or lifting rates.

"The currency continues to take direction from global developments and where the U.S. Fed goes the rand is sure to follow. We continue to expect a little volatility as the tapering of bond purchases becomes real," Anchor Capital said in a note.

Globally the focus for currency traders was on a key U.S. jobs report on Friday. Locally, the rand was bolstered by a 24% rise in new vehicle sales, and investors will also scrutinise PMI surveys expected later this week for clues about the pace of an economic recovery from the pandemic.

So far, the recovery has been uneven and halting, with riots in July linked to the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma detracting from a strong first quarter. Second-quarter gross domestic product figures are due next week.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Top-40 index closed 0.7% lower at 60,613 points, and the broader All-Share Index slipped by almost the same amount to 66,976 points.

Miner BHP Group, also listed in London, dragged the blue-chip index lower, falling over 8.6%. It was among the companies forced to evacuate workers ahead of Hurricane Ida in Louisiana, where energy companies are now struggling to get staff back on site amid infrastructure damage.

Government bonds were also a touch weaker, with the yield on the 2030 instrument rising 0.5 basis points to 8.780%.

(Reporting by Alexander Winning and Emma RumneyEditing by Shounak Dasgupta and Mark Potter)