By 1559 GMT, the rand traded at 16.9950 against the dollar, near Tuesday's close.
The dollar was up around 0.24% against a basket of currencies, as investors braced for comments later from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and a key monthly jobs report due at the end of the week.
South Africa's October trade data showed a deficit of 4.31 billion rand, while analysts polled by Reuters were expecting a trade surplus of 16.85 billion rand.
Meanwhile, data from National Treasury showed South Africa's budget deficit stood at 40.57 billion rand in October.
Also on Wednesday, a panel of experts submitted its recommendations to the speaker of parliament on whether there is sufficient preliminary evidence for an impeachment process against President Cyril Ramaphosa. Its conclusions are expected to be released later in the day.
Shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange rose, with the Top-40 index up 2.62%, while the broader all-share index closed 2.32% higher.
The South African government's benchmark 2030 bond was weaker, with the yield up 5.5 basis points to 10.285%.
(Reporting by Alexander Winning and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Alexander Smith)
