Silver Price Forecast: XAG/USD consolidates around $29 as investors await US PCE inflation data

• Silves price trades in a limited range, with investors focusing on the US PCE inflation data for November.
• The Fed signaled fewer interest rate cuts for the next year in its policy meeting on Wednesday.
• The US Dollar and bond yields have rallied on Fed’s hawkish guidance.

Silver price (XAG/USD) trades in a tight range around $29.00 in Friday’s European trading session. The white metal consolidates as investors await the United States (US) core Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index (PCE) data for November, which will be published at 13:30 GMT.

Economists expect the US annual core PCE inflation data to have accelerated to 2.9% from 2.8% in October. On month, the underlying inflation data is estimated to have grown steadily by 0.2%. Signs of mild slowdown in price pressures are unlikely to impact market expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will pause the policy-easing spell in the policy meeting in January 2025. However, a sharp deceleration could weigh on them. On the contrary, a mild or sharp acceleration in price pressures would strengthen them.

In the policy meeting on Wednesday, the Fed reduced its key borrowing rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.25%-4.50% but signaled fewer interest rate cuts for 2025. The Fed dot plot showed that officials collectively see Federal Fund rates heading to 3.9% by 2025 against 3.4% projected in September.

Ahead of the US PCE inflation data, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, edges lower after posting a fresh two-year high at 108.50. 10-year US Treasury yields tick lower to 4.56% from a fresh six-month high of 4.60%. Higher yields on interest-bearing assets increase the opportunity cost of holding an investment in non-yielding assets, such as Silver.

Silver technical analysis

Silver price slides below the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which trades around $29.35. The white metal weakens after a breakdown of the upward-sloping trendline around $30.20, which is plotted from the February 29 low of $22.30.

The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) drops inside the bearish range of 20.00-40.00 range, guiding a downside momentum ahead.

Looking down, the September low of $27.75 would as key support for the Silver price. On the upside, the 50-day EMA around $30.90 would be the barrier.

Silver daily chart