SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures settled slightly lower on Tuesday, the last trading day of the year in which investors, hoping for an extension of a 12-year streak of annual gains, where hammered. Gold for February delivery gcg4 settled down $1.50, or 0.1%, at $1,202.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was 28% lower than the most active contract's close a year earlier, its first loss since 2000, and its worst loss since at least 1984, according to FactSet records. For the month, gold fell 3.8%, its fourth straight monthly loss. For the fourth quarter, the commodity lost 9%. Low inflation and a expectation the Federal Reserve would end its quantitative easing were two big factors sapping gold's run this year.