Silver dips below $17 to two-week trough

Silver futures fell in American trade away from November 20 highs for the fourth session out of five, even as the dollar index declined to a one-week low, following earlier data from the US, and ahead of Fed Governor William Dudley's speech later today. 

As of 06:53 GMT, silver futures due on March 15 dipped 0.35% to $16.975 an ounce from the opening of $17.035, marking December 29 lows, while the dollar index slipped 0.30% to 91.87 from the opening of 92.33, marking January 5 lows. 

Earlier US data showed producer prices dipped 0.1% m/m in December, the first such decline since July, missing expectations of a 0.2% rise, while analysts expected a 0.4% increase. 

Core prices, excluding food and fuel, fell 0.1% as well, missing expectations of a 0.2% increase, and compared to November's 0.3% rise. 

US unemployment claims rose to 260 thousand in the week ending January 6 from 250K, the second weekly increase in a row, while analysts expected a drop to 246K. 

Continuing claims fell 35 thousand to 1.867 million from 1.902 million in the week ending December 23, while analysts expected 1.920M. 

The overall disappointing data cut chances of a Federal Reserve rate hike in March, and the bets of three hikes this year similar to 2017.

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 potential risks there.