FTSE South Africa bricht um über 12% ein

Gold Fields lost 8.68 percent to 146.06 rand and AngloGold Ashanti shed 6.38 percent to 322.05 rand.

The gold mining index -- which had surged 125 percent over the past 12 months at its peak on Friday -- fell 7.36 percent to 2,899.31 points.

The gold and platinum prices fell sharply as part of a wide financial market sell-off triggered by fears about the long-term outlook for the dollar and that high metals and oil prices would stoke inflation.

Analyst David Davis at Andisa Securities in Johannesburg said the gold market would likely see further losses in the short term, but would level off and resume the upward trend.

BHP Billiton and Anglo American declined by 2.86 and 3.91 percent to 132.60 and 273 rand respectively.

Barloworld shed 6.35 percent to 119.50 rand after its results underperformed those of its rivals.

A rise in subscriber numbers by MTN was overshadowed after it said its planned $5.53 billion buy of Dubai-based Investcom might affect earnings, sending the shares lower by 3.39 percent to 57 rand.

Liberty International and Old Mutual were the only blue chip stocks to close in the black, rising 0.74 and 0.66 percent to 128.44 and 21.51 rand respectively. Old Mutual was buoyed by strong growth in its first-quarter business.

She was referring to a string of announcements by local companies such as healthcare group Netcare and mobile phone operator MTN regarding multibillion rand acquisitions offshore.

South Africa's current account deficit ballooned to 4.2 percent of GDP in 2005 -- its biggest in 23 years.

The shortfall has so far been financed by capital inflows, but analysts are worried the bulk of those are of a short-term nature and could be easily reversed if sentiment changes.

The stock market, which normally benefits from a weaker rand, tumbled with other emerging market bourses. The blue chip Top-40 index fell as much as 3.7 percent, its biggest one-day fall since March 7.

"Overseas markets are concerned about rising inflation on the back of the oil price and our market picked up on that and there are worries over higher interest rates," Ferdi Heyneke, a portfolio manager at Afrifocus Securities, said.

The Johannesburg bourse's woes were worsened by gold and platinum mining shares skidding as much as 7.7 percent, the biggest fall in 3-1/2 years, following a plunge in mahor precious metal prices.

Analysts reckon the rand could weaken to 6.65/dollar if it closes above its 300 day moving average currently around 6.36/50.

Government bonds weakened sharply, also hit by perceptions that domestic interest rates could rise sooner than a now widely anticipated upward move next year.

But some analysts said the market was overreacting.

"We have seen this time and time before ... the current circumstances on the global markets are very volatile. The rise in yields is a volatility spike than a fundamental change," said Chris Hart, a Treasury economist at Absa.

The yield on the most-traded R153 bond due 2010 jumped 12 basis points to 7.52 percent, its highest level since December last year, according to analysts.

The yield on the benchmark R157 bond due 2015 spiked 13 points to 7.75 percent.