Silver gains ground as dollar retreats

Silver futures gained ground in Asia as the dollar index backed off December 17 highs for another session, following earlier Chinese data and ahead of US inflation data today. 

As of 05:28 GMT, silver futures due in March rose 0.35% to $15.61 an ounce, while the dollar index dipped 0.12% to 97.09. 

Earlier Chinese data showed trade surplus shrank to 271 billion yuan, while analysts expected 241 billion. 

Now investors await US retail sales data, with GDP growth expected down to 0.1% from 0.2%, while retail sales are expected at zero. 

Producer prices are expected up 0.1% m/m, and 2.1% y/y. 

Core prices are estimated up 0.2%, compared to a 0.1% dip in December, while unemployment claims are expected down 9 thousand to 225 thousand.