Silver Price Analysis: XAG/USD bulls await Russian actions above $24.00

• Silver picks up bids to refresh intraday high, pares latest losses.
• Markets keens await Russia’s next move, yields, S&P 500 Futures print mild losses.
• US data, Fedspeak may also entertain silver traders, bulls have an upper hand until the war is over.

Silver (XAG/USD) takes the bids around $24.40 to renew the intraday top during Friday’s Asian session.

The bright metal rallied to the highest since August 2021 before reversing from $25.62. The pullback was fierce enough to print a negative close of the commodity even as market sentiment remains sour with eyes on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Global leaders criticize Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and showed readiness to levy more sanctions on Moscow, also help Ukraine with military power if needed. Even so, President Vladimir Putin’s forces rose past Chernobyl and Ukraine President Zelenskyy signed a decree for general mobilization.

On the positive side were comments from Russia, like “Moscow is willing to negotiate the terms of Ukraine's surrender,” to trigger the late Thursday’s pullback. Additionally, chatters that Ukraine President Zelenskyy said they need to discuss ceasefire with Russia also favored risk sentiment during the late Thursday.

That said, Wall Street closed with mild gains after the initial plunge whereas the US 10-year Treasury yields closed more or less at the same level the previous day, after marking a volatile day. However, S&P 500 Futures drop 0.20% and the US Treasury yields remain pressured around 1.96% by the press time.

Markets currently await updates from Ukraine as CNN conveyed that the Russian military is up for bombardment on Kyiv.

Other than the geopolitical news, US Core PCE Inflation data and Durable Goods Orders may join Fedspeak to provide immediate directions to silver traders.

Technical analysis

Silver bounces off the 200-DMA level of $24.18 to mark another battle with a downward sloping trend line from July 2021, near $24.35-40.

A clear break of $24.40 will direct XAG/USD towards the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement (Fibo.) of July-September downside, around $24.75.

However, tops marked in November and the latest swing high, respectively around $25.40 and $25.65, will challenge the silver buyers afterward.

Meanwhile, the 50% Fibo. level surrounding $24.10 precedes the $24.00 threshold to restrict short-term XAG/USD downside.

Silver: Daily chart

Trend: Further upside expected