South Africa's rand weakened against the dollar early on Thursday as the COVID-19 outbreak hurts the country's recession-hit economy, even as traders expected a recent rally to resume on hopes of the pandemic nearing its peak.

At 0630 GMT, the rand traded at 18.2250 per dollar, 0.2% weaker than its previous close.

Traders expected the currency to benefit from improved risk appetite on hopes of a slowdown in the spread of the coronavirus in some countries.

"The market remains optimistic that the virus outbreak might be peaking, enhancing risk appetite in support of riskier currencies," said Bianca Botes, executive director at Peregrine Treasury Solutions.

South Africa's already shrinking economy is expected to take a massive hit from a three-week lockdown implemented to stem the spread of the virus in the country.

In fixed income, the yield on the 10-year government bond due in 2030 was up 0.5 basis points to 10.980%.