Silver settles higher, dollar off two-week lows

Silver futures tilted higher in American trade to October 5 highs, still on track for the second weekly loss in a row, as the dollar index climbed for the first session in four, following earlier data from China, the world's largest metals consumer, and the US. 

As of 06:48 GMT, silver futures due in December rose 0.16% to $14.63 an ounce, marking week highs, while the dollar index added 0.24% to 95.24 away from September 28 lows. 

Earlier Chinese data showed the trade surplus widened to 213 billion yuan, or $30.9 billion, from 180 billion yuan, or $26.1 billion in August, easily beating estimates of $12.3 billion. 

Earlier US data showed import prices rose 0.5%, compared to a 0.4% drop in August, while University of Michigan released the preliminary reading for its consumer sentiment survey, which came at 99 in October, down from 100.1 in September, and missing estimates of 100.4.