Silver Price Forecast: Bulls have the upper hand while above the $35.40 horizontal support

• Silver struggles to capitalize on the previous day’s strong move up to the weekly high.

• The mixed technical setup warrants some caution before placing fresh directional bets.

• Weakness below $36.00 could be seen as a buying opportunity and remain cushioned.

Silver (XAG/USD) attracts some sellers near the $36.55-$36.60 region during the Asian session on Thursday and erodes a part of the previous day's strong move up to the top end of the weekly range. The white metal currently trades around the $36.40-$36.35 area, down 0.50% for the day, as traders keenly await the release of the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report before placing fresh directional bets.

From a technical perspective, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histogram and the signal line on the daily chart have turned lower. However,  the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI, 14) remains above 50, warranting some caution for the XAG/USD bears. Hence, any subsequent fall below the $36.00 mark might still be seen as a buying opportunity and remain limited near the $35.50-$35.40 horizontal support.

The latter should now act as a key pivotal point and a convincing break below could prompt some technical selling, paving the way for a slide towards the $35.00 psychological mark. Some follow-through selling would make the XAG/USD vulnerable to accelerate the descending trend further toward intermediate support near the $34.75 area before eventually dropping to the next relevant support near the $34.45 region.

On the flip side, a sustained strength and acceptance beyond the $36.55-$36.60 supply zone could allow the XAG/USD to make a fresh attempt towards conquering the $37.00 mark. The momentum could extend further toward the $37.30-$37.35 region, or the highest level since February 2012 touched earlier this month. Some follow-through buying would set the stage for an extension of a nearly three-month-old uptrend.

Silver daily chart