The gold stocks index was up nearly 6%, as AngloGold Ashanti jumped 7.37% while Gold Fields was up 5.7%. "Trying to hang on to a long dollar position was close to impossible as everyone scrambled to the exit door," said Standard Bank chief trader Warrick Butler in a note. Mboweni cut the forecast for 2019 economic growth to 0.5% from 1.5%, put debt at over 70% of gross domestic product in the next two years and the budget deficit at 5.9% - its highest since the 2009 global financial crisis.
Leading gains were gold miners after bullion rose as the dollar came under pressure when the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates, while uncertainty surrounding a US-China trade deal bolstered the metal's appeal as a safe-haven investment.