A lack of fresh U.S. economic signals and uncertainty regarding federal budget cuts from the sequester left gold unchanged in Monday trading. U.S. equities rose slightly during the day, while crude oil prices declined to a nine-week low.

Gold futures for April delivery were flat at $1572.40 per ounce on Monday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,584.30 and as low as $1,568.70. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,576, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures for April delivery were also unchanged at $28.47 per ounce. Monday’s high for silver was $28.73, while the low was $28.46.

Gold and silver funds slid in Monday trading.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) dipped 0.1%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) also edged down 0.1%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) fell 0.1% as well.

Gold and silver mining ETFs dropped during the day.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) fell 3.2%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) slid 3.5%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) retreated 3.3%.

Gold mining shares moved lower on Monday.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) slid 2.2%.
• Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) dropped 2.6%.
• Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) sank 4.1%.
• Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) declined 1.5%.
• Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) fell 1.8%.
• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) declined 1.6%.
• NovaGold Resources (AMEX:NG) dipped 1%.
• Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) plunged 6.2%.

Silver mining shares also declined.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) dropped 3.3%.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) plummeted 12.3%.
• Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) tumbled 4.2%.
• Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) sank 4.6%.
• Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) slumped 6.4%.

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.