Gold futures extended their losses in overnight trading as the global financial markets attempted to rebound heading into the Christmas break. The yellow metal has struggled for much of 2021, and it does not look like gold prices will be able to stage a year-end rally.

January gold futures tumbled $3.30, or 0.18%, to $1,791.30 per ounce on Monday on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Year-to-date, the precious metal has slumped close to 6%.

Silver, the sister commodity to gold, failed to sustain last week’s surge. February silver futures slipped $0.071, or 3.32%, to $22.215 per ounce. The white metal has also plummeted more than 16% this year.

Market analysts note that the long-term prospects for gold appear more bearish than anything, especially with the shift in monetary policy as more central banks raise interest rates.

“The United States’ economy is expected to slow down in the first quarter of 2022, causing stock markets to correct and investors to shift their capital out of equity markets and into gold,” wrote Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, in a research note. “However, as the Fed moves to raise interest rates, the outlook for gold is likely to be bearish.”

Indeed, Goldman Sachs cut its US growth outlook, warning that the post-pandemic recovery could hit a bump in the road after it looked like Senator Joe Manchin would not support President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion social-spending and climate change bill.

Gold slid as the greenback eased too. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which gauges the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.08% to 96.48, from an opening of 96.55. A weaker buck is good for dollar-denominated commodities because it makes it cheaper for foreign investors to purchase. However, year-to-date, the DXY has soared more than 7%.

The US Treasury market was mostly positive, with the benchmark 10-year yield down 0.01% to 1.429%. The one-year bill edged up 0.004% to 0.264%, while the 30-year bond added 0.011% to 1.859%. Gold is typically sensitive to a rising-rate environment because it makes it more expensive for foreign investors to purchase.

In other metal markets, January copper futures rose $0.0205, or 0.51%, to $4.3155 a pound. January platinum futures shed $2.30, or 0.25%, to $924.10 an ounce. March platinum futures were flat at $1,746.00 per ounce.