Silver gains ground, dollar moves little in Asia

Silver futures tilted higher in Asian trade as the dollar index hovered in place, following earlier data from China, the world's largest metals consumer, and ahead of US retail sales, consumer sentiment data. 

As of 05:03 GMT, silver futures due in December rose 0.18% to $14.27 an ounce, while the dollar index barely inched down to 94.50 against a basket of major currencies. 

Earlier Chinese data showed the unemployment rate down to 5.0% from 5.1%, while retail sales rallied 9% y/y, slowing down from 8.8% in July. 

China's industrial output rose 6.1% y/y in August, up slightly from 6.0%, while fixed-income investments rose 5.3%, slowing down from 5.5%. 

Now markets await US retail sales data, expected with a 0.4% increase in August, down from 0.5%. 

Import prices are estimated with a 0.2% monthly dip, and a 4.1% yearly increase, as industrial production is expected with a 0.3% increase in August, up from 0.1% in July. 

The University of Michigan's survey on consumer sentiment is estimated at 96.7 in September, up from 96.2 in August.