Silver price declined marginally on Friday, going down by 0.5 to trade at $31.87 at the time of writing on the heels of upbeat US labour market data. The greyish metal got rejected at $32.30 in its most recent ascent, but it will likely attempt another go at it as the geopolitical situation in the Middle East provides tailwinds.
US Non-Farm Payrolls numbers beat forecasts in September, coming in at 254k against the median forecast figure of 147k. Meanwhile, the August reading was revised upward from 142k to 159k, signaling a robust jobs situation. In addition, unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent from August’s 4.2 percent which analysts had forecast to remain unchanged.
Solid jobs growth in the United States eases pressure on the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by a deeper margin and puts pressure on dollar-denominated silver. With inflation subsiding significantly in recent months, the Fed will likely pay greater attention to the jobs market in its interest rate decision making.
That said, continued escalation of war in the Middle East and the fear sentiment surrounding it will provide safe haven demand for silver as investors seek to diversify their portfolio. Israel had sworn to retalliate Iran’s missile attack, and markets willl be on the edge as investors wait to see the direction the conflict takes. That could provide support for silver price in the near-term.
The momentum on silver price calls for further downside, with the MACD indicator line below the signal line. The pivot will likely be at 32.10, with the first support coming at 31.90. However, a stronger bearish momentum could breach that mark and send the price to test 31.80.
Alternatively, moving above 32.10 will favour the buyers, who could advance further to the first resistance at 31.90. However, if they manage to break above that mark, the downside narrative will be invalid, and the momentum could see the price move to the next barrier established at 31.80.
This post was last modified on Oct 04, 2024, 14:52 BST 14:52