At 1549 GMT, the rand traded at 16.9500 against the dollar, 0.25% stronger than its previous close.
Headline consumer inflation quickened to 7.8% year on year in July from 7.4% in June, data from Statistics South Africa showed.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast consumer price inflation of 7.7% in July.
Investec analyst Annabel Bishop said in a research note that the Reserve Bank could raise interest rates by at least 50 basis points next month.
On the stock market, the Top-40 index rose 0.07% to 63,079 points, while the broader all-share was up 0.05% to 69,808 points.
The government's benchmark 2030 bond was almost unchanged, with the yield at 10.300%.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru and Anait Miridzhanian in Gdansk; Editing by Alex Richardson)
