Silver prices add nearly one percent before the weekend

Silver prices rose nearly one percent in American trade after sliding yesterday on profit-taking, after the futures marked the longest winning streak since September, while the dollar index hit a six-month low amid a lack of data from the world's largest economy. 

As of -7:05 GMT, silver futures due on July 15 rose 0.87% to $16.82 an ounce from the opening of $16.67, while the dollar index tumbled 0.80% to 97.10 from the opening of 97.79, marking its lowest since November. 

Earlier from the U.S., Saint Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said in his speech about the economy and monetary policy that the Fed might need to slow down before tightening policy due to weak data since March. 

Bullard said he expects growth to pick up in the second quarter, but might not reach 2%, while he doesn't expect falling unemployment rates to have an impact on inflation. 

He pointed to the fall in U.S. long-term treasury bonds and the downgrading of inflation forecasts in March as a reason to delay tightening the policy, while asserting the importance of cutting the Federal budget from its current 4.5 trillion to allow for more rate hikes later. 

Silver prices benefited recently from lower chances of a Fed rate hike in June as concerns grow about U.S. president ability to carry out his economic agenda, including tax, health care, and regulation reforms, after controversial reports of his intervention in a Federal investigation.