The rand broke through the barrier of R13 to the dollar and was trading at R12. 93 early on Thursday - its strongest level since August 2015.
Retail sales disappointed in January by contracting, while business confidence increased marginally in the first quarter.
The rand largely shrugs off warnings by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings that the country still faced prospects of a downgrade.
The Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index drops 10 points to 77 in the fourth quarter of last year, offsetting the gains made in the previous quarter.
Sacci's monthly business confidence index fell to 95. 5 points in February from 97. 7 points in January.
While weak growth performance was anticipated for 2016, the shrinkage in the economy in the fourth quarter was worse than many analysts had forecast.
The latest Standard Bank Purchasing Managers’ index signals the country's ongoing improvement in private sector operating conditions.
The ABSA purchasing managers’ index reaches an eight-month high, rising a further 1. 6 points to 52. 5 last month.
Average real disposable salaries in South Africa declined for the eighth consecutive month year-on-year.
South Africa’s producer price inflation slows to 5. 9 percent year-on-year in January from 7. 1 percent in December.
South Africa is facing what could be a watershed year in 2017, with the ANC electing a new leader who will set the agenda.
South Africa’s unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of last year retreated from its highest in 13 years.
South Africa’s manufacturing and mining output fell in December, but a recovery is expected this year.
South Africa continued to be one of the biggest recipients of foreign direct investment in 2016, despite global economic growth remaining weak.
Political tensions and weak economic growth in South Africa are the biggest challenge to its sovereign credit rating, Moody’s said in a regular update.
Green shoots have started to show in the recovery of the economy, with the manufacturing sector starting 2017 on a relatively solid footing.
The rand holds steady against as data shows credit demand growth quickened more than expected in December, signalling a modest recovery in the economy.
South Africa recorded a larger-than-expected surplus in December, largely due to a sharp fall in imports.
The rand plunged on Monday, alongside the Russian rouble, pummelled by weaker commodity prices and political uncertainties.
Annual headline producer price inflation quickened to 7. 1 percent in December from 6. 9 in November, higher than the market expectation of 6. 9 percent.
South Africa might be near the end of the rate-hiking cycle, but the Reserve Bank may reassess this if the inflation outlook is undermined.
Caution must still be applied before calling the end of the Reserve Bank’s rate hiking cycle after inflation quickens.
S&P says a range of negative shocks have run their course, while the World Bank predicts that 2016 would leave South Africans worse off on average.
The decline in South Africa’s annual mining production deepened to 4. 2 percent last November from 2. 6 percent last October.
South Africa’s manufacturing production fared much better in November, but is nonetheless underperforming in contrast to global figures.