Silver puts a distance away from three-month high as dollar leaps

Silver prices gave up ground on Friday as dollar muscled higher against its counterparts after earlier data showed a fall in the unemployment rate. 

Silver prices last traded at $14.77 an ounce, down from the opening of $14.86, with an intraday low at $14.63, and a high at $14.94, the best in three months. 

Silver's woes come on the heels of the stronger dollar after unemployment fell to an eight-year low, despite a slowdown in new jobs in January. 

Confidence in the U.S. economy is shining again, with a chance that the central bank could stick to its monetary tightening policy after all this year and raise interest rates gradually. 

Higher risk appetite lowered demand on the safe-haven silver, while the stronger dollar made the greenback-denominated silver futures more expensive to holders of other currencies, pushing the prices lower. 

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a host of major rivals, traded last at 97.07, up from the opening of 96.59, with a session-high at 97.24, and a low at 96.26. The index slumped to a four-month low yesterday at 96.25.