Silver Price Forecast: XAG/USD posts fresh weekly high at $29.20 as US labor market cools down

• Silver price refreshes weekly high at $29.20 as weak US NFP data sends US yields down.
• The US NFP report showed that labor demand has slowed and wage growth has softened.
• Investors see the Fed pivoting to policy normalization in September.

Silver price (XAG/USD) posts a fresh weekly high at $29.20 in Friday’s North American trading hours. The white metal gains as US yields sink after the United States (US) Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report for July showed signs of cooling labor market conditions.

10-year US Treasury yields witness a bloodbath and dives to multi-month low near 3.82%. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, plunges below 103.30. Lower yields on interest-bearing assets bode strongly for the Gold price as they reduce the opportunity cost of investment in non-yielding assets.

The report showed that labor demand has softened as number of individuals hired by employers in July came in lower at 114K than estimates of 175K and June’s reading of 179K. The Unemployment Rate jumps to 4.3%, the highest since November 2021, from expectations and the prior release of 4.1%. The report clearly indicates that the labor market struggles to bear the consequences of higher interest rates by the Federal Reserve (Fed).

Meanwhile, Average Hourly Earnings have also grown at a slower pace, pointing to a slowdown in consumer spending that eventually cools down inflationary pressures. Annually, the wage growth measure decelerated at a faster-than-expected pace to 3.6%. While the labor market has cooled down, it will add to reasons prompting expectations of sooner rate cuts by the Fed. The Fed is widely anticipated to start reducing interest rates from the September meeting.

Silver technical analysis

Silver price breaks above the horizontal resistance plotted from June 13 low at $28.66 on a four-hour timeframe, which has become a support now. The asset climbs above the 50-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) near $28.70, suggesting that the near-term trend is upbeat.

The 14-period Relative Strength Index (RSI) moves higher to near 60.00. If the RSI breaks above 60.00, the momentum will shift to the upside.

Silver four-hour chart