Silver rises near 1-week high on hopes of China's demand

Silver prices surged in European trade on Monday, extending gains for the second straight day, near touching a 1-week high, on hopes over Chinese actual demand, however, these gains remain capped due to the US dollar's rise against a basket of currencies.

Silver prices rose more than 0.6% to $18.13 an ounce, after opening at $18.02, with a session-low of $17.99.

Silver gained 0.6% on Friday, closing at a 1-week high of $18.17, after strong Chinese industrial production data.

During the past week, silver prices lost 0.3%, to post the first weekly loss in a month and a half, on weak safe-haven demand after the US and China signed their trade deal.

Most industrial metals rose recently, thanks to positive data on the Chinese economy, and the signing of the phase-one trade deal with the US, which boosted prospects for actual demand in China.

The dollar index rose by 0.1% today, extending its gains for the third straight day, jumping to a 4-week high of 97.73 points, which weighs down on dollar-denominated metal prices.