XAG/USD slides to near $22.70 as Fed speakers maintain hawkish stance

• Silver price falls sharply to near $22.70 as Fed Waller denied early rate cut discussions.
• The USD Index has climbed to near 103.50 amid a risk-off mood.
• Investors await the US Retail Sales and the Industrial Production data for further guidance.

Silver price (XAG/USD) faces an intense sell-off as Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers are maintaining the narrative of keeping interest rates higher for a longer period. The white metal has extended its downside to near $22.70 and is expected to remain on the tenterhooks ahead of the United States Retail Sales and Industrial Production data.

S&P500 futures have posted some losses in the Asian session, portraying further decline in the risk-appetite of the market participants.

The US Dollar Index (DXY) has rallied to near 103.50 as Fed Governor Christopher Waller said the central bank could not rush to rate cuts amid revision risks in inflation prints. He added that the Fed will reduce interest rates only if inflation continues to moderate. While the 10-year US Treasury yields have dropped marginally to little above 4.0%.

As per the CME Fedwatch tool, chances in favour of an interest rate cut by 25 basis points (bps) have declined to 62% after a hawkish commentary from Fed Waller.

Going forward, market participants will focus on the US monthly Retail Sales data for December, which will be published at 13:30 GMT. The economic data is seen growing by 0.4% against 0.3% increase in November. The Industrial Production is expected to remain stagnant.

Silver technical analysis

Silver price is declining towards the crucial support that is plotted from December 13 low around $22.51 on a four-hour scale. The 200-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) around $23.48 has been acting as a major barricade for the Silver price bulls.

The 14-period Relative Strength Index (RSI) has slipped below 40.00, which indicates that a bearish momentum has been triggered.

Silver four-hour chart