Silver bounces off the weekly low touched during the Asian session on Wednesday and is currently placed in neutral territory, just below the $24.00 round-figure mark.
From a technical perspective, the recent price action witnessed over the past month or so constitutes the formation of an ascending channel, pointing to a short-term bullish trend. Moreover, the XAG/USD, so far, has managed to hold its neck comfortably above the 200-period SMA on the 4-hour chart. This, in turn, favours bullish traders and supports prospects for additional near-term gains.
That said, oscillators on the daily chart have been losing traction and have just started drifting in the negative territory on the 4-hour chart. Hence, any intraday move-up is more likely to confront some resistance near the $24.30 area, which is followed by the multi-month peak, around the $24.50 area. Bulls might wait for sustained strength beyond the said barriers before placing fresh bets.
The XAG/USD might then climb towards challenging the top end of the aforementioned trend channel, currently around the $24.80-$24.85 region. Some follow-through buying beyond the $25.00 psychological mark will mark a fresh breakout and pave the way for a further near-term appreciating move. This, in turn, could lift the white metal to the next relevant hurdle near the $25.35-$25.40 zone.
On the flip side, the 200-period SMA on the 4-hour chart, currently around the $23.45 region, is likely to protect the immediate downside ahead of the trend-channel support, near the $23.30-$23.25 area. A convincing break below the latter might turn the XAG/USD vulnerable to weaken further below the $23.00 mark and fall to the $22.60-$22.55 support en route to the $22.10-$22.00 region.