Silver prices have gone through one of their wildest weeks in years. Spot silver fell to nearly $74 an ounce. That is a drop of about 17% from its May peak near $90. The fall followed a strong run that pushed silver through old resistance levels in April and early May. People had been buying it as a safe place to put money and worrying about factory supply shortages.
The drop got worse when three things hit at once: hotter U.S. inflation numbers, rising Treasury yields, and weaker forecasts for industrial demand.
Even after the drop, the silver price is trying to stabilize between $75 and $77. The bigger picture still matters though, especially as traders continue watching a massive long-term cup and handle formation that projects a possible move toward $196 if the pattern fully plays out.
Silver Cup and Handle Pattern Keeps the $196 Price Target Alive
Market analyst NorthstarCharts brought attention back to silver’s long-term setup after posting that when silver traded near $49, the expectation was always for prices to double first and then enter a correction phase. That idea now lines up closely with what traders are seeing after silver touched almost $90 before pulling back aggressively this month.
The chart itself focuses on a huge 46-year cup and handle formation stretching back to the early 1980s. In technical analysis, a cup and handle structure often appears before a major breakout continuation. The “cup” forms over a long accumulation period, and the “handle” becomes the correction phase before the next upward leg begins. In this case, the chart maps a possible long-term path toward the $196 area using Fibonacci extension levels.
Source: X/NorthstarCharts
The important detail is that the correction was never treated as bearish failure inside this setup. The chart even notes that the depth and duration of the correction remain uncertain. The silver price dropping from $89 to the mid-$70 range may look extreme in the short term, but after almost doubling from earlier breakout levels, many traders expected heavy profit-taking and leveraged liquidations.
News Driving the Silver Price
Silver’s correction accelerated after macroeconomic conditions changed very quickly last week. Spot silver fell from $89.38 on May 13 to $73.86 on May 18 as traders aggressively repriced expectations for US interest rates.
The biggest trigger came after US CPI inflation printed at 3.8%, forcing markets to reduce expectations for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts. CME FedWatch data also showed December rate hike odds jumping from 14% to 48% within days.
Higher bond yields created even more pressure on silver. The US 10-year Treasury yield climbed above 4.60%, and Japanese 10-year bond yields pushed toward 2.5%, their highest level since 1999.
Since silver does not generate yield, investors often rotate toward bonds when interest rates rise quickly. That change in positioning triggered large institutional liquidations after silver broke below key technical levels near $80.
The US dollar also played a major role in the correction. The Dollar Index moved back above 99 as investors looked for safety during the inflation scare and geopolitical uncertainty tied to energy markets. Silver usually trades inversely to the dollar, and that relationship became very clear during this decline.
Also, UBS revised global silver investment demand forecasts lower to 300 million ounces after concerns over industrial demand weakened. Data from the Silver Institute also pointed to a projected 2% drop in industrial fabrication demand tied partly to slower activity in solar and green technology sectors.
Related Silver News: This Trader Makes a Shocking Silver Price Prediction
Why This Silver Correction May Still Fit the Bigger Bullish Picture
The speed of the drop caught many traders off guard. But after a run that big, a fall this size is normal. Silver went from the mid-$40 range up to nearly $90 in a short time. So too many people borrowed money to bet on it. Once prices broke below short-term averages, automatic sell orders and big investors taking profits made the fall worse.
At the same time, the main reasons silver went up in the first place are still there. Inflation is still high. Energy prices are still up, with Brent crude near $110 a barrel. And factories need silver for things like electrification and solar panels. That demand keeps supporting the metal, even if near-term forecasts look weaker.
The next few weeks will probably decide if silver (XAG) price builds a stronger base near the mid-$70 area or falls to lower support. If buyers can take back the $80 zone, traders may start looking again at the bigger cup and handle pattern. For now, price swings are large. But the larger picture that points to higher prices down the road is still in place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is pure silver called
Pure silver is called fine silver, which contains about 99.9% silver with almost no other metals mixed in. It is very soft compared to other forms of silver, which is why it is usually alloyed for jewelry or everyday items. Because of its high purity, fine silver is valued for investment pieces and special decorative uses.
Who is the biggest buyer of silver
India is one of the biggest buyers of silver in the world, mainly importing large amounts for jewelry, investment, and cultural use. It consistently accounts for more than one-fifth of global refined silver demand in recent years. Even though China processes a lot of silver, India leads when it comes to importing and consuming finished silver.
How much can I sell 100g of silver for
With silver priced around $74 per troy ounce, that works out to roughly $2.38 per gram. That means 100 grams of silver would be worth about $238 at the current spot price before any dealer fees or premiums. The final amount you get can still change depending on purity, market demand, and where you sell it.
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The post Silver Price Prediction: Cup and Handle Points to $196 – Why the Correction Was Always Part of the Plan appeared first on CaptainAltcoin.