Silver prices rose in European trade above four-month lows hit earlier this session, on track for the second profit in a row as dollar dips. 

Dollar declined ahead of US payrolls data for February, which will provide clues on the pace of the rate hike by the Fed in March.

Prices Today

Silver prices rose 0.4% to $20.15 an ounce, after marking November 4 lows at $19.88.

Prices rose 0.2% yesterday, the first profit in four days as the dollar dipped following unemployment claims data. 

The Dollar

The dollar index fell 0.2% on Friday, moving off three-month highs at 105.88 against a basket of major rivals. 

Dollar is declining after data showed unemployment claims rose by the largest amount in five months last week. 

Dollar was also pressured by lower US 10-year treasury yields, which plumbed three-week lows, reducing investments in the dollar. 

Fed Rates

Following the data, odds for a 0.5% rate hike in March rallied from 69% to 78%, while estimates for a 0.25% rate hike tumbled to 22%.

US Payrolls Data

Investors await important US monthly data for February, which will provide important clues on the state of the US labor sector and the health of the economy. 

US economy is expected to have added 224 thousand new jobs in February, slowing down from a 517 thousand addition in January.

Unemployment is expected at 3.4% with no change from the previous reading. 

Euro rose in European trade for a second session off two-month lows against dollar after ECB President Christine Lagarde's pledge to fight inflation in the euro zone.

The greenback is moving off three-month highs on profit-taking with investors shunning new positions ahead of US payrolls data today.

EUR/USD rose 0.2% to 1.0600, with a session-low at 1.0578, after rising 0.35% yesterday, the first profit in three days away from two-month lows at 1.0525, following weak US unemployment claims data.

Lagarde

ECB President Christine Lagarde vowed to do everything required to bring balance back to prices in the euro zone during a conference held by the World Trade Organization in Geneve.

Lagarde vowed to restore prices to normality , as the ECB's main job is to bring back high inflation to normal 2% target throughout the euro zone.

She asserted the likelihood of a 0.5% rate hike by the ECB in March ,with other important steps later on to control prices.

European Remarks

Such sentiment was corroborated by Dutch Central Bank President, who expected multiple more 0.5% rate hikes later on.

Estonian Central Bank President Madis Müller said the ECB must hike rates and maintain them at high levels for an extended duration to contain inflation, asserting the March rate hike won't be the last.

Similarly, National Bank of Belgium President Pierre Wunsch said the ECB must do more as inflation remains too high with no clear signals of decline so far.

He expects European rates to surpass 4% this year, noting that inflation movements are the main determinant of the path forward for the ECB.

European Rates

Such remarks bolstered the case for multiple more European hikes following the expected 0.5% hike in March by the ECB. 

The Dollar

The dollar index fell 0.15% today for the second session away from three-month highs at 105.88 against a basket of major rivals. 

Dollar was pressured by weak US unemployment claims data, and declining US 10-year treasury yields, which hit three-week lows.

During the second part of his Congressional testimony, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated his message on raising interest rates aggressively, maybe even faster than before, but it depends on upcoming data.

Following Powell's remarks, odds for a 0.5% rate hike in March rallied from 69% to 78%, while estimates for a 0.25% rate hike tumbled to 22%.

UK GDP grew by 0.3% in January m/m, beating estimates of a 0.1% increase, and compared to December's 0.1% dip.

The UK economy is rebounding after struggling recently, which hurt pricing for Bank of England's rate hikes this year. 

Oil prices declined on Thursday amid concerns about the global economy and global demand as central banks carry on policy tightening.

The Fed

Fed Chair Powell also said the Fed hasn't won its battle against inflation yet, which remains considerably higher than 2%.

He noted that inflation calmed down in January with some signals of weakening in services except housing, possibly because of the warmer climate.

However, a full review of the last quarter shows that inflationary pressures remain rather higher than expected in previous meetings.

Policy tightening could send global economies into recession, in turn hurting commodity and fuel demand. 

OPEC General Secretary indeed warned that weaker demand in Europe and the US could represent a cause for concern in the global market despite huge growth in Asia.

US Stocks 

The Energy Information Administration reported a drop of 1.7 million barrels in US crude stocks last week to 478.5 million barrels, while analysts expected a buildup of 700 thousand barrels.

Gasoline stocks fell 1.1 million barrels to 238.1 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose 100 thousand barrels to 122.3 million barrels.

On trading, US crude futures due in April fell 1.4% as of 19:52 GMT to 75.5 a barrel. 

Brent May futures fell 1.3% to $81.5 a barrel.