• Silver remains on the defensive near a one-month low touched on Monday.
• The set-up favours bearish traders and supports prospects for further losses.
• Any attempted recovery move above the $19.00 mark is likely to get sold into.

Silver struggles to gain any traction on Tuesday and remains well within the striking distance of over a one-month low touched the previous day. The white metal is currently trading around the $18.70 region and seems vulnerable to prolonging its recent downtrend witnessed over the past two weeks or so.

Given last week's failure near the 200-period SMA on the 4-hour chart, acceptance below the $19.00 mark adds credence to the near-term bearish outlook for the XAG/USD. Furthermore, technical indicators on the daily chart are holding deep in the negative territory and are still far from being in the oversold zone.

Hence, a subsequent slide towards retesting the YTD low, around the $18.20-15 area touched on July 14, looks like a distinct possibility. This is closely followed by the $18.00 round-figure mark, which if broken decisively will be seen as a fresh trigger for bearish traders and set the stage for a further depreciating move.

On the flip side, any attempted recovery move is more likely to confront stiff resistance and attract fresh sellers near the $19.00 mark. This should cap the XAG/USD near the 200-period SMA on the 4-hour chart. The said barrier is currently pegged near the $19.45-$19.50 region, which should now act as a pivotal point.

Sustained strength beyond will negate the near-term negative bias and prompt some short-covering move. The XAG/USD might then aim to surpass an intermediate hurdle near the $19.80 region and aim back to reclaim the $20.00 psychological mark.

Silver 4-hour chart

Key levels to watch