Gold fell sharply in Tuesday trading, dropping below $1,700 an ounce, as budget talks in Washington appeared to be going nowhere and precious metal prices were dragged down across the board as a result.

Gold futures for December delivery rose to $1,697 on Tuesday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,716.80 and as low as $1,691.60. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,700, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures for December delivery rose to $32.94 per ounce. Tuesday’s high for silver was $33.48, while the low was $32.72.

Gold and silver funds slid in Tuesday trading.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) dipped 1%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) also fell 1%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) dropped 1.9%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs mostly gained during the day.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) rose 0.4%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) fell 0.2%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) increased 0.3%.

Gold mining shares were mixed on Tuesday, with Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) falling the most.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines sank 1.9%.
• Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) gained 1.4%.
• Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) edged lower 0.4%.
• Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) advanced 1.7%.
• Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) moved up 0.3%.
• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) fell 0.5%.
• NovaGold Resources (NYSE:NG) increased 0.5%.
• Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) declined 0.5%.

Silver mining shares moved higher on Tuesday.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) improved 0.7%.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) rose 0.5%.
• Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) inched up 0.1%.
• Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) gained 0.2%.
• Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) climbed 1.3%.

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.