Ramaphosa gained a lifeline after the ANC said on Monday it would ask its lawmakers to reject a report that said it may have breached the constitution.
The report by a panel appointed by the speaker of parliament was due to be debated on Tuesday but was delayed until December 13, further easing political tensions.
At 1025 GMT, the rand was trading at 17.3400 against the dollar, up 0.72% from its previous close.
The risk-sensitive currency has faced turbulence since the report was released, as political turmoil in the country fueled investor uncertainty. At one point it fell more than 4% against the dollar, before recovering.
“The rand is doing better as there is more clarity on how the whole Phala Phala mess will be handled,” said Wichard Cilliers, head of market risk management at TreasuryONE.
“When there was uncertainty about the resignation and how the whole situation would be handled, the rand was under pressure.”
Cilliers said the rand was not out of the woods yet and is weaker than some emerging market counterparts.
“If it wasn’t for the debacle of this, the rand would probably be trading closer to around R16.80,” he added.
The rand was performing better as markets calmed as the ruling party backed Ramaphosa, avoiding the risk of further political fallout.
Investec analyst Annabel Bishop said the strong GDP numbers also boosted the rand.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six of its main rivals, rose 0.02% to 105.25.
The benchmark 2030 government bond was marginally lower, yielding 2 basis points at 10.625%.
(Reporting by Bhargav Acharya Editing by James Macharia Chege)
By Bhargav Acharya
