Silver closes higher on weak dollar

Silver futures rose on Thursday, on strong safe haven demand for precious metals, as the US dollar fell against most currencies after the release of disappointing US data. 

Data showed today the US GDP shrank by 5% during the first quarter of this year, lower than forecasts of contraction by 4.8%, while the durable goods orders fell 17.2% during April.

The unemployment claims in the US reached 2.123 million vs. 2.446 million, with the total unemployed in the US exceeding 40 million in just 10 weeks.

The US dollar index fell 0.6% to 98.4 points as of 21:13 GMT, after it hit a high of 99.09 and a low of 98.3.

Silver July futures rose 1.2% to close at $17.967 an ounce, after a high of $18.11 and a low of $17.6855.