Silver rises 1% as dollar trades flat

Silver futures rose nearly one percent in American trade as the dollar index traded mostly flat near March 28 lows, following earlier data from China, the world's largest metals consumer, and the US. 

As of 07:01 GMT, silver futures due on May 15 rose 0.89% to $16.620 an ounce from the opening of $16.473, while the dollar index added 0.04% to 89.79 from the opening of 89.75. 

Earlier Chinese data showed the trade deficit at 30 billion yuan, or $5 billion in March, compared to a surplus of $33.7 billion in February, while analysts expected a surplus of $27.1 billion. 

China's new loans rose to 1.120 trillion yuan from 839 billion in November, below expectations of 1.326 trillion, while MS money supply rose 8.2% y/y in March, slowing down from 8.8% in February, and missing expectations of 8.9%. 

From the US, University of Michigan released its preliminary consumer sentiment survey, showing a drop to 97.8 in April from 101.4 in March, missing expectations of 100.6. 

US JOLTS job openings fell to 6.05 million in February from 6.23 million in January, also missing forecasts of 6.11 million.