2015 Silver Price Forecast

The 2015 silver price forecast is even more critical than past years', as the metal has toyed with a rebound for months...

While silver prices typically follow in gold's footsteps, silver has fared worse than gold recently. Gold is down 37% since it peaked at $1,900 in 2011. Silver has shed 67% since topping at $49 that same year.

It's down 12% in 2014 alone - compared to gold's 1% drop.

Now that gold is poised to hit the $1,400 to $1,500 range in 2015, the biggest question for investors is whether a silver rebound will follow...

Let's take a look at the main factors that will drive silver prices in the New Year...

The Biggest Silver Price Drivers for 2015

One of the most noteworthy things about silver in 2014 has been investor sentiment. Investors insist on staying exposed to the metal despite its price weakness.

An example of this is the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE Arca: SLV), the largest silver exchange-traded fund (ETF). Lower silver prices drive down SLV's unit prices, but shares outstanding have remained stable.

In fact, investors have maintained remarkable interest in SLV, given the wild price gyrations of silver over the past four years in particular.

In September, after a recent surge in holdings, SLV's outstanding shares leapt ahead of those of the largest U.S. gold ETF, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE Arca: GLD), by the widest margin ever. In November, retail investors pushed SLV's holdings up to 345 million ounces, the most in more than three years, according to The Wall Street Journal.

That means investors like to buy and hold their silver. They're very willing to hang onto both their physical holdings and ETF shares.

A second major driver for the silver price in 2015 is physical demand...