Silver advances 1% past $17 as dollar weakens

Silver futures rose nearly one percent in American trade away from late-2017 lows for the second session, as the dollar index plumbed the lowest since September 8, following earlier data from China, the world's largest metals consumer, and the US. 

As of 05:02 GMT, silver futures due on March 15 rose 0.88% to $17.115 an ounce from the opening of $16.966, while the dollar index declined 0.61% to 91.29 from the opening of 91.85. 

Earlier Chinese data showed the trade surplus ballooning to $54.69 billion in December from $40.21 billion in November, beating expectations of a drop to $37.44B. 

Earlier US data showed US retail sales rose 0.4% m/m in December, slowing down sharply from 0.9% in November, revised from 0.8%, while analysts expected a 0.5% increase. 

Core sales rose 0.4%, besting expectations of 0.3%, while still sharply down from November's 1.3% increase, revised from 1%.

US consumer prices rose 0.1% in December in line with expectations, slowing down from 0.4% in November. 

Core prices, excluding food and fuel, rose 0.3% m/m, besting expectations of 0.2%, and up from November's 0.1% rise. 

Otherwise, White House economic adviser Gary Kohen said earlier that the stock market is not too high right now, and the tax cuts have begun to have an impact on the economy, with wages rising and optimism improving. 

Last month, President Donald Trump singed into law the $1.5 trillion tax reform bill, which cuts the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, while also signing a stopgap government spending bill to prevent a government shutdown, in turn underpinning Wall Street to successive record highs. 

The World Bank released its global forecasts on Wednesday, expecting the strongest growth rate since the financial crisis, with global GDP expected to grow 3.1% in 2018, up from 3% in 2017. 

Emerging economies will lead global growth, especially those relying on commodity exports, with the bank expecting a 4.5% growth rate for them in 2018 before settling at 4.7% in 2019 and 2020, while developed economies are projected to grow 2.2% in 2018, down from 2.3% in 2017. 

The reason behind the growth slowdown in developed economies is the ending of stimulus policies followed recently, according to the World Bank, which weighs on investment. 

The bank put a positive outlook for major economies such as the US, Japan, China, and the euro zone, while pointing to persistent potential risks there that could hamper some of the momentum.