CARACAS, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela has suspended the sale of the Bond of the South due to the volatility of the U.S. financial market, Venezuelan Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas saidon Friday.

    The collapse of the U.S. financial market dragged most of the world's markets, including Latin America, Cabezas said.

    The Bond of South, which aligns itself with the U.S. dollar, was on offer on Tuesday, for a total value of 1.5 billion dollars. The bonds help the Venezuelan government soak up excess liquidity in the economy.

    The bond is a combination of Venezuelan and Argentine debt. The first sale in the local market collected 1 billion dollars in November, 2006 and the 2nd sale in March 2007 fetched 1.5 billion dollars.

    Cabezas rejected critics who said that the sale of the bonds had been suspended because of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's announcement to reform his country's constitution, which scared buyers.

    Cabezas said Brazil also suspended two bids due to current market volatility worldwide, adding that Venezuela will continue bonds sale after the recovery of world financial markets.