Silver dips to one-year nadir, dollar hits three-week high

Silver futures fell to July 10, 2017 lows as the dollar index rose to June 28 highs, following earlier disappointing data from the US, while Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell wrapped up the second half of his Congressional testimony today, where he reiterated his belief in the strong performance of US economy. 

As of 06:05 GMT, silver futures due on September 15 shed 0.24% to $15.58 an ounce from the opening of $15.62, while the dollar index rose 0.05% to 95.03 from the opening of 94.98, marking three-week highs.

US Housing Data 

Earlier US data showed housing starts fell 12.3% to an annualized 1.173 million units in June, compared to a 4.8% rise in May to 1.337 million, while analysts expected a 4.8% rise to 1.320 million. 

Building permits fell 2.2% to 1.273 million, compared to a 4.6% drop in May to 1.301 million, while analysts expected a 2.2% rise to 1.330 million.