Gold dropped sharply in heavy Monday trading as rising investor concern over possible future Federal Reserve interest rate hikes weakened the metal’s appeal.

Last week, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen signaled that the central bank could begin raising interest rates sooner than Wall Street had expected — as early as the first half of next year. Higher interest rates favor the U.S. dollar at the expense of precious metals like gold.

Gold futures for April fell 1.9% to $1,311.20 per ounce on Monday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,335.70 and as low as $1,308.50. Bullion closed in London at $1,312, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures for May delivery sank 1.2% to $20.07 per ounce. Monday’s high for silver was $20.32, while the low was $19.97.

Metal funds sank on Monday.

• The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) slid 1.8%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (IAU) fell 1.8%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) faded 1.6%.

Mining ETFs dropped during the day.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) dropped 4.7%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) plunged 6.8%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) tumbled 5.1%.

Gold stocks pulled back on Monday.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) fell 4.7%.
• Barrick Gold (ABX) slid 4.5%.
• Eldorado Gold (EGO) declined 4.6%.
• Goldcorp (GG) moved down 4.1%.
• Kinross Gold (KGC) dropped 5%.
• Newmont Mining (NEM) sank 2.7%.
• NovaGold Resources (NG) tumbled 5.4%.
• Yamana Gold (AUY) slipped 3.2%.

Silver mining shares retreated during the day.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) dropped 7.1%.
• Hecla Mining (HL) plunged 7.7%.
• Pan American Silver (PAAS) fell 6.3%.
• Silver Wheaton (SLW) slid 7.1%.
• Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) tumbled 7%.

As of this writing, Christopher Freeburn did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of BullionVault contributed to this report.