Silver tumbles as dollar steamrolls higher

Silver futures slid nearly one percent in American trade to August 3 lows, on track for the ninth weekly decline in a row, the longest such streak in four years, while the dollar index spiked to July 2017 highs, following earlier inflation data form the US today. 

As of 06:34 GMT, silver September futures dropped 0.95% to $15.31 an ounce, marking week lows, while the dollar index rose 0.90% to 96.37 against a basket of major rivals, scaling 13-month highs. 

Earlier US data showed consumer prices rose 0.2% m/m in July as expected, accelerating from 0.1% in June, while core prices, excluding food and energy, rose 0.2% as expected with no change from June. 

On a yearly basis, consumer prices rose 2.9% as expected with no change as well, while core prices accelerated to 2.4% from 2.3%. 

The dollar index has strengthened considerably against major currencies, heading for the third weekly profit in a row on prospects of two more Federal Reserve rate hikes this year. 

Dollar's rivals have taken a beating, mainly euro and sterling on prospects of an unorganized Brexit, while the yuan has slumped as well due to the US-China trade war.