- Silver price rose to nearly $85 per ounce a week a go but recently tested the $70 support
- CME recently hiked margins on silver contracts and the traders rushed to book profits
- The outlook for the global demand for silver in 2026 looks robust, making the milestone $100 achievable
For silver investors, things have been quite a wild ride lately. After a run that defied gravity and saw the XAGUSD pair break through all-time highs above $80 just last week, we got a sudden, sharp reality check. Three days of selling wiped out some of those gains, bringing silver price close to the $70 mark.
We talk about whether the recent price movements mean that the trend is changing or if that was a temporary dip before prices go up again. Also, it is worth looking into predictions that silver will reach $100 per ounce in 2026.
Why Did Silver Price Drop Recently?
That drop to $70 didn’t scream “crash”. Instead, it just looked like a classic bull market pullback. Silver shot up 160% in 2025, so of course people took some profits. Then CME hiked margins on silver contracts, and that move pushed out some of the quick traders. The market dipped for a bit, but that’s all it was.
Ongoing deficits, low inventories, and the Federal Reserve’s plans to lower interest rates in 2026 all make it less expensive to hold non-yielding assets. Experts from Birch Gold Group say that inflation that stays above target levels is a good thing for silver price. There has been a clear demand for Chinese goods, with premiums in Shanghai reaching all-time highs.
The correction looks more like a pullback than a reversal, as it absorbs positions that have gotten too big while keeping the core drivers in place. If the price stays below $70 for a long time, this view could be called into question. However, the rebound shows that buyers are interested at lower levels.
Will Silver Price Reach $100 in 2026?
Is it impossible to get silver in the hundreds? If you ask the people who work in retail, no. A recent Kitco poll found that 57% of retail traders think silver will go over $100 this year. Even some well-known people are leaning toward the bull side. Robert Kiyosaki recently doubled down on his prediction that the price would go over $100, saying that the huge U.S. debt (now over $41 trillion) is a reason for investors to flee to hard assets.
The “Green Revolution” keeps the floor high, even though major institutions like BMO Capital Markets are being a little more careful and predicting an average closer to $60 for the year. Between solar panels, AI data centers, and the U.S. officially naming silver a “critical mineral” late last year, the industrial demand is stickier than ever.
A conservative estimate from Bank of America point to an average of $56-65, with peaks possible in the $70-85 range. Risks include softening industrial demand at elevated prices or unexpected tightening in monetary policy. Overall, the balance tilts toward elevated prices, though volatility is expected.
Silver Price Prediction
Currently, silver price is bumping up against resistance at $76.50, with another hurdle near that psychological high at $80.00. It just bounced off the $70 mark, which everyone’s been watching as a key support level, making a strong case to move upwards.
The daily RSI dropped from an overheated 80 down to a more comfortable 64. So, there’s still space for it to climb before it starts looking stretched again. On the downside, primary support is at $66 near recent accumulation zone. Breaking below that mark will invalidate the upside narrative and open the path to test the second support at $59.91, which aligns with the 50-day EMA.
Silver price daily chart on January 2, 2026. Support and resistance levels created on TradingView
The drop was largely driven by profit-taking after a historic 2025 rally, combined with the CME raising margin requirements. This forced short-term traders to sell, causing a temporary pullback.
Industrial use, particularly in solar energy, AI hardware, and EVs, accounts for over 50% of demand. Because silver is difficult to substitute, demand remains high regardless of price. These factors supporting a move toward $100.
Most analysts view this as a healthy pullback within a broader bull market. As long as silver stays above the $70 mark, the long-term upward trend remains intact, supported by a multi-year supply deficit.