Gold and silver were lower again Thursday morning, setting the stage for a second straight monthly decline as U.S. 4Q 2011 GDP came in as expected and weekly unemployment claims dropped again.

Spot gold was 0.55% lower as of 11:10 a.m., having traded as high as $1,664.40 and as low as $1,646.80 an ounce, according to Kitco market data. The London afternoon reference price was set at $1,657.50, $18.50 an ounce lower than Wednesday’s afternoon reference price.

Spot silver was showing a 0.75% loss, bid at $31.80, with an ask price of $31.90. The morning high as of time of writing was $32.21 and the low was $31.56. Thursday’s reference price was set at $31.79 in the London a.m., 64 cents an ounce below Wednesday’s price fix.

U.S. 4Q 2011 Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 3% from 3Q, unchanged from a “second” estimate last month, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s “third” estimate. U.S. real GDP increased 1.8% in 3Q last year.

Increases in “private inventory investment, personal consumption expenditures (PCE), nonresidential fixed investment, exports and residential fixed investment were partly offset by negative contributions from federal government spending and state and local government spending,” BEA reported, while imports, which subtract from GDP, increased.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped 5,000, to 359,000 the week ended March 24, the Employment & Training Administration reported, based on a revised calculation method that resulted in small increases to past figures. The four-week moving average was 365,000, down 3,500 from the previous week’s revised average of 368,500.

Eurozone retail sales fell only marginally at the end of 1Q 2012 — remaining below 50 for March — with the average rate of the 1Q decline matching that of 4Q 2011, the worst quarterly reading since 1Q 2010, according to Markit’s latest Flash PMI.

Markit’s 1Q Eurozone PMI highlighted the disparity between Germany, where retail sales increased, and Italy, where they fell. Retail sales in France were broadly flat, Markit noted.

Spanish and Italian 10-year government bond yields jumped as Spain saw a national strike ahead of the government’s 2012 budget meetings on Friday, MarketWatch reported. Spanish 10-year government bond yields rose 9 basis points (bps), while Italy’s rose 14 bps.

Gold bullion prices dropped below last week’s closing price in London morning trading Thursday, heading for its second consecutive monthly decline, BullionVault reported in its London Gold Market report.

“The view that the U.S. economic recovery is looking more sustainable is becoming increasingly accepted,” BullionVault’s Adrian Ash quoted UBS analysts Edel Tully and Julien Garran in a new report on Wednesday, “slashing the Swiss banks’ 2012 average gold price target by 18%, to $1,680…. Gold is at risk, for it needs persistent inflows of investor money to keep it on its upward trajectory,” the analysts wrote.

In U.S. stock exchange trading, gold and silver trusts were heading lower.

The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) was lower, down around 0.7%.
The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) was down around 0.7%.
The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) was around 1% lower.

Gold and silver mining ETFs also were showing losses.

The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) was showing losses of around 1.5%.
The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) showed losses of nearly 2%.
The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) was down some 1.5%.

Gold mining shares were down closer to 2% than 1% as a rule, with NovaGold Resources the exception.

Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) was showing losses of around 1.2%.
Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) was down around 2%.
Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) was down around 2.1%.
Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) was around 1.8% lower.
Kinross Gold Corp. USA (NYSE:KGC) was down around 1.95%.
Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) was down more than 1.5%.
NovaGold Resources (NYSEAMEX:NG) was lower, down nearly 0.3%.
Yamana Gold (USA) (NYSE:AUY) was down more than 1.9%.

Silver mining shares heading lower in Thursday morning trading as well, except for Pan American Silver.

Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) was showing losses of nearly 1.2%.
Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was down more than 1.7%.
Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) was showing gains of nearly 0.2%.
Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) was down some 1.4%.
Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) was around 0.75%.

As of this writing, Andrew Burger did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of BullionVault contributed to this report.