With most market players also taking a break this week, the rand failed to rally despite data showing the country's trade deficit came in much narrower in November at about 8 billion rand from 21 billion in October.

Government bonds also retreated slightly in thin trade, despite the absence of any supply pressure after the Treasury suspended weekly auctions until early January.

The yield on the most active 14-year bond added 2.5 basis points to 7.27 percent and that on the issue due in 2015 added half a basis points to 5.325 percent.

The local currency was at 8.5015 to the greenback at 1459 GMT, 0.28 percent softer than Thursday's close at 8.4780.

"We are now in a very thin market and that is why the rand is not moving. In a normal market the trade data we had should have boosted the rand because it came in substantially better than expected," said Murat Toprak, an EMEA strategist at HSBC in London.

"Most of the people are away and no one wants to take any positions on the risk side before the end of the year."

The rand is still on track to end the year as one of the heaviest losers against the greenback for 2012 in a basket of 20 emerging market currencies monitored by Reuters.

It has shed more than five percent of its value since January, due to global risk aversion and to violent protests and strikes at South Africa's mines that cut output. However, it has clawed back some ground after breaching 9.00/dollar last month.