Silver gains ground, dollar moves little in Asia

Silver futures rose in Asian trade even as the dollar index inched from November 22 lows, ahead of US inflation data later today. 

As of 05:24 GMT, silver futures due in March rose 0.53% to $14.71 an ounce, while the dollar index barely climbed to 97.41 off recent three-week lows. 

Now investors await US consumer prices data, expected with no change last month, down from a 0.3% increase in October, while core prices are estimated with a 0.2% monthly increase, same as October.

The US Treasury Department will release data on the budget, expected to show an increase in the deficit to $193.5 billion from $100.5 billion in October.