Silver looks at the abyss, dollar slips

Silver futures declined in Asian trade to settle near 2-1/5 year lows, as the dollar index backed off 14-month highs, ahead of US consumer data later today.

 As of 04:54 GMT, silver futures due in September fell 0.46% to $14.64 an ounce, sharpening its sharp and recent decline, as the dollar index shed 0.10% to 96.55 against a basket of major rivals, away from recent 14-month highs. 

Now investors await University of Michigan's highly-regarded consumer sentiment survey later today, expected to increase to 98.1 in August from 97.9. 

The dollar index has strengthened recently against major currencies, marking three consecutive weekly gains and weighing on dollar-denominated commodity futures, on prospects of two more Federal Reserve rate hikes this year.