JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand fell against a stronger US dollar early on Friday, but it looked set for weekly gains after as riskier currencies this week drew support from calmer market sentiment.

At 0615 GMT, the rand traded at 14.9400 versus the dollar, 0.61% weaker than its previous close.

The currency has gained more than 4% since Monday.

"Emerging market currencies rallied this week as inflation fears dissipated and bond yields dropped. This saw the rand gaining back significant ground," said Bianca Botes, executive director at Citadel Global.

Risk appetite has been driven by offshore events, with investors eyeing the speed of the global economic recovery and the pace of US lending rates.

Investors feared the higher Treasury yields and a faster economic recovery in the United States could lead the Federal Reserve to cut short its quantitative easing program and allow lending rates to rise, weakening demand for riskier high yielding currencies like the rand.

But indications from the Federal Reserve that it would tolerate the bond spike, and slower price-growth, have calmed those fears.

In fixed income, the yield on the long-dated benchmark government bond due in 2030 was up 3 basis points to 9.29% in early deals.