After two sessions of gains, gold retreated slightly on Wednesday. The metal halted its advance even as the Thomson Reuters GFMS Gold Survey predicted that gold will hit record prices during the first half of this year.

Gold futures for February delivery slipped fractionally to $1,683.20 on Wednesday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,684.70 and as low as $1,673. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,683, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures for February delivery rose slightly to $31.52 per ounce. Wednesday’s low for silver was $31.18 an ounce.

Gold and silver funds rose in Wednesday trading.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) climbed 0.1%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) rose 0.1%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) gained 0.3%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs sank during the day.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) fell 0.8%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) increased 0.2%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) slid 0.9%.

Gold mining shares were mostly lower, with Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) falling the most.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) dipped 0.3%.
• Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) fell 1.3%.
• Eldorado Gold dropped 1.5%.
• Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) decreased 0.8%.
• Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) declined 0.7%.
• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) tumbled 1%.
• NovaGold Resources (AMEX:NG) also sank 1%.
• Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) climbed 0.2%.

Silver mining shares mostly declined on Wednesday.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) dropped 1.5%.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) slid 1.2%.
• Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) decreased 0.7%.
• Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) fell 0.7%
• Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) gained 0.4%.

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.