* TSX falls 1.7% in broader declines, down 3.8% this week

* Miners pressured by fall in silver, gold prices

* Canada retail sales rise 1.1% in January

(Updates to close)

By Rashika Singh and Nivedita Balu

March 20 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on

Friday amid broad declines across sectors, recording its third

straight weekly loss, as the conflict in the Middle East showed

no signs of cooling.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index

was down 1.69%, at 31,317.23. The index fell 3.8%this

week.

All major sectors on the TSX were in negative territory,

with materials leading losses, down 3.1%, as spot

silver and gold tumbled. Stocks of miners Endeavor

Silver and Lundin Gold ( LUGDF ) declined 4.5% and 5.4%

respectively.

Energy stocks fell 0.6%, tracking a dip in oil

prices, amid renewed efforts by the U.S. to ease supply

disruptions. Major European nations, Japan and Canada issued a

joint statement backing efforts to secure safe passage for

vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

"The market has been conditioned to buy dips and think this

is all short-term. The fear right now is that this is going to

drag on a lot longer than we had expected. ... There is a lot of

nervousness heading into the weekend," said Greg Taylor, chief

investment officer at PenderFund Capital Management.

"When we come back on Monday, it's really all going to come

back to what the oil price does, what happens geopolitically...

that's going to set the tone for the week," Taylor said.

In a week packed with central bank meetings, most

policymakers, including at the Bank of Canada, kept interest

rates on hold, but stressed their readiness to hike rates if

inflation pressures persisted.

The war-driven jump in crude prices has fueled inflation

concerns and Canada's resource-heavy index is especially

sensitive to oil-price swings because the commodity is among the

country's top exports.

The TSX closed at its lowest level since December, extending its

total decline since the Iran war began to nearly 9%.

On the data front, Canada's retail sales rose in January to

C$69.65 billion ($50.81 billion), up 1.1% from the previous

month, driven by stronger sales at motor vehicles and parts

dealers, Statistics Canada said on Friday.