The South African rand gained in early trade on Friday, after central bank data showed that the country's foreign reserves increased last month.

South Africa's net foreign reserves rose to $65.899-billion at the end of August from $65.143-billion in July.

Nedbank economists had expected the international liquidity position to only edge up to $65.2-billion.

At 0653 GMT the rand traded at 17.7125 against the dollar, roughly up 0.4% on its previous close.

The rand was on the back foot on Thursday, hurt partly by a firmer dollar which dulled the appeal of most emerging market currencies.

"It was difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for the bearish sentiment, although the negative Ipsos poll may count as a good barometer for the general feeling in South Africa concerning the economy and the country's politics," ETM Analytics said in a research note.

Data from global market research firm Ipsos showed that the wave of optimism among South Africans since the establishment of the government of national unity (GNU) in 2024 is fading partly due to political disagreements within the coalition government, a local newspaper BusinessDay reported.

South Africa's benchmark 2035 government bond also gained in early deals, with the yield falling 2 basis points to 9.625%.