Gold and silver were moving sharply lower Monday morning, along with share prices, as new data heightened eurozone concerns and worries of slowing economic growth worldwide.

Spot gold was down 0.86%, bid at $1,628.30 as of 10:33 a.m., having traded as high as $1,634.20 and as low as $1,622.10 an ounce, according to Kitco market data. The London afternoon reference price was set at $1,629, $12.50 an ounce lower than Friday’s afternoon reference price.

Spot silver was showing a sharp, 3.41% loss, bid at $30.62. The morning high as of time of writing was $31.10 and the low was $30.41. Monday’s reference price was set at $31.16 an ounce in the London a.m., 63 cents an ounce below Friday’s price fix.

European Union economic data released today were discouraging, exacerbating recessionary and sovereign-debt fears. April “flash” Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) reports for the eurozone, Germany and France indicate a deeper contraction than had been anticipated. HSBC’s Flash PMI for China came in at a two-month high, but at 49.1 still indicates a slowdown in the Chinese economy.

The Bank of Spain reported that the Spanish economy contracted 0.4% in Q1 2012, the second consecutive quarterly decline. Following a Q4 2011 decrease of 0.3%, that puts Spain back in recession.

Comments from European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi and Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann added to these worries, as both stated that eurozone monetary authorities had done enough in the way of lowering interest rates and adding liquidity to the banking system.

Total sovereign debt of the 17-member eurozone amounted to 87.2% of GDP in 2011, up from 85.3% in 2010, its highest level since the introduction of the euro in 1999.

Government budget increases, along with essentially “socializing” the bad debts of the banking sector with bailouts following the implosion of U.S. and eurozone housing finance markets, have driven the government debt-to-GDP ratio higher.

One bright spot has been Q1 U.S. earnings reports, which, very contrary to expectations, have thus far turned out to be the strongest in three years. Some 83% of the 106 S&P 500 companies that have announced earnings have beaten estimates.

Looking ahead, the markets will be on Fed Watch as the Federal Reserve Open Market Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets Tuesday and Wednesday, with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke due to speak at a press conference.

Gold bullion prices were down as much as 2.3% on the month in London morning trading, falling to $1,630 an ounce, according to BullionVault’s London Gold Market report.

“Gold remains in a short-term bear channel,” BullionVault quoted technical analysts at bullion bank Scotia Mocatta. “We would expect a test of support from the long-term uptrend…[which] comes in around $1,600.”

Gold and silver trusts were moving lower in U.S. stock exchange trading Monday morning.

The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) was down around 0.7%.
The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) was around 0.7% lower.
The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) was down sharply, some 3.15% lower.

Gold and silver mining ETFs were heading south as well.

The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) was showing losses of around 3.3%
The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) was down nearly 3.1%.
The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) was around 3.7% lower.

Gold mining shares were down sharply, with El Dorado Gold paving the way lower.

Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) was showing losses of more than 2.8%.
Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) was down around 2.9%.
Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) was falling sharply, down around 6.2%.
Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) was showing losses of more than 4%.
Kinross Gold Corp. USA (NYSE:KGC) was around 4% lower.
Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) was down more than 3.4%.
NovaGold Resources (NYSEAMEX:NG) was down around 2.2%.
Yamana Gold (USA) (NYSE:AUY) was down more tha 3.2%.

Silver mining shares were also showing sharp losses.

Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) was showing losses of around 4%.
Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was down around 3.3%.
Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) was showing losses of some 3.9%.
Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) was down some 3.5%.
Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) was down more than 3.1%.

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