Gold for February delivery GCG4 +0.12% ?fell $1.50, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,202.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the year, gold fell 28%, its worst year in about three decades.
Gold futures have plummeted on expectations — and the final December announcement — that the Federal Reserve would begin to pare back on its monetary stimulus. The Fed is set to reduce its monthly bond purchases to $75 billion in January from $85 billion. Those purchases, which could come to an end by late 2014, have helped support gold prices. Plus, investors have grown less worried about run-away global inflation and have flocked to a roaring stock market, siphoning off money from the exchange-traded funds backed by precious metals. SPDR Gold Trust GLD -0.62% ?has fallen 28% this year, its worst ever.
The woes in the metals market similarly manifested themselves in silver. For the year, silver futures measured by the continuous contract have plunged nearly 36%. This year's losses for gold and silver futures are the worst since at least 1984, when FactSet began tracking data.
"Many of the fundamental factors that were drivers of the gold price over the past few years have mitigated substantially and taken the 'fear' premium down significantly," wrote Peter Hug, global trading director at Kitco Metals Inc.