Gold sank in Wednesday trading after a report showed little sign of inflationary pressure in the U.S. economy. Investors traditionally view the precious metal as a hedge against rising inflation.

The Labor Department said that consumer prices slipped slightly last month. The government’s consumer price index edged down a seasonally-adjusted 0.1% in October, its first dip since April. Over the past year, consumer prices have risen 1%, the smallest gain since 2009. A separate report showed retail sales up a better-than-expected 0.4% last month.

Comex gold prices fell even further in afternoon trading after the release of the Federal Reserve’ Federal Open Markets Committee Meeting (FOMC) for October, which revealed that Fed officials expect to begin tapering monthly stimulus at one of its next few meetings.

Gold futures for December delivery dropped 1.2% to $1,258 per ounce on Wednesday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,275.70 and as low as $1,245.30. Bullion closed in London at $1,248, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures for December slid 1.4% to $20.06 per ounce. Wednesday’s high for silver was $20.49, while the low was $19.84.

Metal funds declined in Wednesday trading.

• The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) fell 2.3%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (IAU) dropped 2.4%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) sank 2.6%.

Mining ETFs retreated during the day.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) slid 3.4%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) tumbled 4.6%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) moved down 3.3%.

Gold stocks sank on Wednesday.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) fell 2.9%.
• Barrick Gold (ABX) slipped 3.7%.
• Eldorado Gold (EGO) dropped 3.9%.
• Goldcorp (GG) moved down 3%.
• Kinross Gold (KGC) tumbled 4.1%.
• Newmont Mining (NEM) declined 3.5%.
• NovaGold Resources (NG) dipped 0.9%.
• Yamana Gold (AUY) waned 2.2%.

Silver mining shares pulled back during the day.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) fell 2.7%.
• Hecla Mining (HL) slid 1.8%.
• Pan American Silver (PAAS) fell 2.6%.
• Silver Wheaton (SLW) dropped 2.5%.
• Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) tumbled 4.1%.

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.