Silver prices declined for a third consecutive day Friday and were on track for another weekly loss, as rate-hike bets continued to fuel the US dollar. December silver futures fell 20 cents, or 1.2%, to $16.58 a troy ounce at 7:37 am ET, their lowest since early June. The grey metal is on pace for a weekly loss of around 4.5%. Gold futures also fell $6.60, or 0.5%, to $1,210.30 a troy ounce. Bullion reached an intraday low of $1,201.30, which would have been the lowest settlement since February. The US dollar surged to fresh 14-year highs on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen indicated the US central bank was leaning toward raising interest rates soon. “At this stage, I do think that the economy is making very good progress toward our goals, and that the judgment the [FOMC] committee reached in November still pertains,� Yellen told Congress on Thursday. The dollar index extended its gains Friday, rising 0.1% to 100.98. The greenback is up more than 3% over the past month and has seen its gains accelerate since the November 8 election. A deluge of economic data on Thursday ranging from initial jobless claims to CPI inflation suggested the US economy was progressing fast enough to warrant another round of rate increases. The US has no major economic releases scheduled for Friday. A firmer dollar weighed on European equities Friday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.2%, reversing earlier gains. US stock futures were trading slightly higher ahead of New York trading. The major Wall Street indices closed near record highs on Thursday and could be in position to extend those gains as volatility continues to decline.

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