JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's rand fell to a new 4-year low and government bonds were heavily sold on Monday in a market still jittery over the threat of labour unrest in the mining sector.

The local unit fell more than 0.7 percent to 9.4720 - its weakest since April 2009 - compared to Friday's close at 9.4025. The yield for the benchmark 2026 bond climbed 11 basis points to a month's high of 6.945 percent.