Johannesburg - The rand fell sharply on Thursday, surrendering most of the gains made in the previous session when the US Federal Reserve dampened expectations of an imminent interest rate increase.
By 17:07 GMT the rand had weakened 1.67% to R12.2800, breaching the 12/$ level for the first time in two weeks.
The local unit gained as much as 3% overnight after the Fed downgraded its views on the US economy and signalled a more gradual approach to monetary tightening.