Gold fell modestly in Monday trading as investors tried to assess the longevity of Federal Reserve stimulus efforts after comments by two Fed officials last week suggested that stimulus efforts could end this year if the economy improved.

Gold futures for February delivery rose 1% to $1647.30 on Monday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,663 and as low as $1,642.60. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,650, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures for February delivery fell .03% to $30.03 per ounce. Monday’s high for silver was $30.34, while the low was $29.87.

Gold and silver funds fell in Monday trading.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) slipped 0.6%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) also dipped 0.6%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) edged lower 0.2%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs also retreated during the day.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) dropped 1.9%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) slid 0.8%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) sank 1.4%.

Gold mining shares were mostly lower, but NovaGold Resources (NYSE:NG) defied the trend by rising.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) fell 2.8%.
• Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) declined 1.5%.
• Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) sank 2.1%.
• Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) dropped 1.5%.
• Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) moved down 0.7%.
• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) retreated 2%.
• NovaGold Resources rose 0.8%.
• Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) slid 1.3%.

Silver mining shares lost ground on Monday.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) tumbled 3%.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) dropped 2.6%.
• Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) slipped 0.5%.
• Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) plunged 3.1%
• Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) declined 1.6%.

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.