• Silver gained some positive traction on Wednesday, though lacked follow-through buying.
• The bearish setup supports prospects for the emergence of fresh selling at higher levels.
• Sustained strength beyond the $19.40-$19.50 region is needed to negate the bearish bias.

Silver edged higher on Wednesday, albeit lacked bullish conviction and remained below the $19.00 mark through the first half of the European session.

From a technical perspective, the XAG/USD, so far, has struggled to break through the 50-period SMA on the 4-hour chart. This makes it prudent to wait for strong follow-through buying before positioning for an extension of this week's bounce from the vicinity of a two-year high, around the $18.15 region touched last Friday.

Technical indicators, meanwhile, have just started gaining positive traction on the hourly charts, though remained deep in the bearish territory on the daily chart. This, in turn, suggests that any further move up might still be seen as a selling opportunity and fizzle out rather quickly near the $19.40-$19.50 supply zone.

On the flip side, the $18.50 horizontal zone now seems to protect the immediate downside ahead of the YTD low, around the $18.15 region. This is closely followed by the $18.00 mark, which if broken decisively would be seen as a fresh trigger for bearish traders and pave the way for an extension of the recent downward trajectory.

The XAG/USD might then accelerate the slide towards the $17.45-$17.40 intermediate support en-route the $17.00 round-figure mark. The bearish trend could further get extended and drag spot prices to the next relevant support near the $16.70-$16.60 region.

Silver 4-hour chart

Key levels to watch