Gold futures slumped below $2,000 to kick off the trading week, driven by ballooning US Treasury yields and a rising greenback. The yellow metal has struggled to firm above the critical psychological level, with gold prices continuing to hover in this trading range. Will there be a catalyst for the precious metal to rally above $2,000?

December gold futures tumbled $12.70, or 0.64%, to $1,986.40 per ounce at 19:15 GMT on Monday on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold prices are coming off a weekly loss of around 0.3%, but they remain up nearly 9% year-to-date.

Silver, the sister commodity to gold, is trying to hold $23 to start the trading week. December silver futures dropped $0.135, or 0.58%, to $23.15 an ounce. The white metal declined around 1% last week, adding to its year-to-date loss of more than 4%.

It was all about the greenback and bonds on Monday.

Following last week’s massive decrease in Treasury yields, US bond returns are rebounding. The benchmark ten-year yield rose 10.2 basis points to hit 4.66%. The two-year yield added about 11 basis points to above 4.94%, while the 30-year bond picked up eight basis points to rise to nearly 4.83%.

Last week, the US bond market responded to a more dovish Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, a small-than-expected sale from the Treasury Department in the third quarter, and a weaker-than-expected jobs report.

Gold is typically sensitive to fluctuations in interest rates because it can influence the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

The US Dollar Index (DXY), a measurement of the greenback against a basket of currencies, firmed above the 105.00 mark. The DXY jumped 0.21% to 105.24, from an opening of 105.09. Year-to-date, the index is up nearly 2%.

A stronger buck is bad for commodities priced in dollars because it makes it more expensive for foreign investors to purchase.

In the world of data, there will not be much information to affect gold and silver prices. Next week will be the main event as the October consumer price index (CPI) and the producer price index (PPI) will be published. It is expected that the CPI and PPI will rise on a year-over-year basis.

In other metal markets, December copper futures advanced $0.03, or 0.81%, to $3.7115 per pound. December platinum futures cratered $27.90, or 2.95%, to $916.40 an ounce. December palladium futures declined $16.30, or 1.44%, to $1,111.00 an ounce.