Comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hinting at a possible draw down of the Fed’s economic stimulus efforts in coming months sent gold lower in Wednesday trading. In testimony before Congress, Bernanke said the Fed would continue bond-buying for the time being, but could reduce that activity if the economy showed continued improvement.

Gold futures for June delivery sank 0.7% to $1,367.40 per ounce on Wednesday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,413.30 and as low as $1,353.10. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,364, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures for June delivery edged up 0.1% to $22.46 per ounce. Wednesday’s high for silver was $23.18 while the low was $22.22.

Gold and silver funds declined in Wednesday trading.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) fell 0.7%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (IAU) sank 0.8%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) edged down 0.5%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs improved during the day.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) gained 1.2%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) climbed 1.7%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) rose 0.5%.

Gold mining shares mostly advanced on Wednesday.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) added 2.2%.
• Barrick Gold (ABX) inched up 0.6%.
• Eldorado Gold (EGO) climbed 3%.
• Goldcorp (GG) rose 2%.
• Kinross Gold (KGC) surged 3.8%.
• Newmont Mining (NEM) was flat.
• NovaGold Resources (NG) was also unchanged.
• Yamana Gold (AUY) increased 0.9%.

Silver mining shares mostly gained during the day.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) slid 1.1%.
• Hecla Mining (HL) improved 0.3%.
• Pan American Silver (PAAS) gained 0.8%.
• Silver Wheaton (SLW) climbed 2.4%.
• Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) also rose 2.4%.

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.