The rand was up almost 1% at 15.2250 against the U.S. dollar after a low of 15.4400 on Wednesday as risk-aversion was stoked by an inverted U.S. Treasury bond yield curve - widely viewed as a sign of looming global recession - for the first time since 2007.
Traders said the recovery was likely to be short-lived, given the domestic economic and political outlook after a contraction in GDP and continuing legal challenges against President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Equities also opened firmer, with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's (JSE) Top-40 index rising nearly 0.5%, after plunging to a six-month trough in the previous session.
Bullion producer Gold Fields swung to a first-half profit as output increased after the inclusion of its joint venture with Asanko Gold, but headline earnings per share fell, sending its share price down by 3%.
Bonds strengthened slightly, with the yield on the benchmark paper due in 2026 down 0.5 basis points to 8.465%.
(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by David Goodman)