Sydney - Australian stocks slid Monday as fears of a worldwide recession grew.

The ASX 200 lost 60 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 3,809.

Losses were stemmed by rising values in the mining sector. Market leader BHP Billiton was up 1.5 per cent as bargain hunters moved on a counter considered oversold. Gold miners also did better.

The local currency was trading at a five-year low. It has lost 37 per cent in value against the US dollar in three months.

The Australian dollar was trading at 61 US cents, up from the low of 60 cents on Friday.

The Reserve Bank of Australia intervened and bought Australian dollars to shore up the local currency over the weekend, as it had done on Friday.

It was only the third time since 2001 that Australia's central bank had intervened to provide liquidity in the money market. (dpa)