SILVER PRICE ANALYSIS: XAG/USD STRUGGLES NEAR MONTHLY LOW, SEEMS VULNERABLE TO SLIDE FURTHER

Silver is seen consolidating the overnight slump to a fresh monthly low.

The technical setup supports prospects for additional near-term losses.

A sustained strength beyond $24.00 might negate the negative outlook.

Silver enters a bearish consolidation phase on Wednesday and oscillates in a narrow trading band just above the $23.00 mark, or a fresh monthly low touched the previous day.

From a technical perspective, the recent repeated failures to find acceptance above the 200-period Simple Moving Average (SMA), followed by the overnight slump favour bearish traders. Moreover, oscillators on the daily chart have again started drifting into negative territory. That said, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) on hourly charts flash oversold conditions and warrants some caution before positioning for any further slide. Nevertheless, the XAG/USD seems vulnerable to adding to its weekly losses registered over the past two days.

A sustained break and acceptance below the $23.00 mark will reaffirm the negative outlook and drag the white metal towards testing the May monthly swing low, around the $22.70-$22.65 region. This is followed by the very important 200-day SMA, currently around the $22.40-$22.35 area. Failure to defend the latter will mark a fresh bearish breakdown and expose the $22.00 round-figure mark. The downward trajectory could get extended further towards the next relevant support near the $21.50-$21.45 horizontal zone en route to the $21.00 round figure.

On the flip side, the $23.60-$23.65 region now seems to act as an immediate hurdle ahead of the 200-period SMA on the 4-hour chart, around the $23.90 area. Some follow-through buying beyond the $24.00 mark might trigger a short-covering move and lift the XAU/USD towards the $24.50-$24.55 zone, or the monthly peak touched last week. The latter should act as a pivotal point, which if cleared decisively should allow bulls to reclaim the $25.00 psychological mark and test the $25.30-$25.40 resistance zone