Gold and Silver Suffer a Case of the Mondays

On Monday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for December delivery fell $22.10 to settle at $1,737.60 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) dropped 93 cents to close at $32.74.

Both precious metals experienced a case of the Mondays as U.S. retail sales increased in September more than expected. The Commerce Department reported that sales last month rose 1.1 percent, following a revised 1.2 percent increase in August. It was the best back-to-back performance since late 2010.

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New inflation data on China also weighed on hard asset prices. The National Bureau of Statistics said that the consumer prices in the nation increased 1.9 percent from a year earlier, the slowest pace in two years. However, the slower rate also gives government officials more room to provide additional easing.

By the end of the day, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) closed 1 percent lower, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) closed 2.4 percent in the red. Gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) declined 0.62 percent and 0.46 percent, respectively. Silver names such as Endeavour Silver (NYSE:EXK) and Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) both managed to edge higher.

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Disclosure: Long EXK, AG, HL, PHYS