This Bullish Silver Price News Supports Our Bold Forecast

silver price news In silver price news today (Thursday, April 6), prices are up 0.3% and trading at $18.25. With that slight gain, silver prices have now climbed 2.7% in the last month and 14.1% so far in 2017.

But the even bigger news for the metal has to do with an ongoing trend in the broader market right now.

And this trend supports Money Morning Resource Specialist Peter Krauth's bullish 2017 silver price prediction, which shows a massive double-digit return by the end of the year.

First, here's the trend that's been dominating headlines recently...

This Market Trend Has Been Shaping Silver Price News Recently

The trend we're talking about has been the recent decline in the stock market - particularly the Dow Jones - since early March.

You see, the markets saw a meteoric rise in the months following Donald Trump's election win on Nov. 8, 2016. From that date to its peak on March 1, 2017, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 13.1% to 21,115.55. The index broke several records during that time, including reaching above 20,000 and 21,000 for the first time ever.

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The main reason investors poured into stocks was Donald Trump's promises of business deregulation and big tax cuts. On Feb. 9, Trump teased he would soon roll out his new tax plan, which proposed slashing the corporate tax by 20%.

But investors have started to worry these pro-business policies won't go into effect anytime soon due to the GOP's ongoing battle to replace Obamacare. Markets are seen as overvalued, a stance reinforced by the March FOMC meeting minutes released yesterday (Wednesday, April 5).

All of this has dragged the Dow Jones 1.8% lower since March 1. Meanwhile, the price of silver has climbed 2.7% higher over the last month.

That's because worried investors are adding silver to their portfolio due to its safe-haven qualities. Safe-haven investments are popular because they tend to increase in value during times of market volatility. They're often treated as a long-term hedge rather than a short-term profit opportunity.

Since market volatility could very well continue until Trump's tax cuts are implemented, silver prices should keep rising in 2017.

Krauth - a 20-year veteran of the gold and silver sectors - agrees that prices will run higher. That's why his silver price forecast is extremely bullish.

Here's how high he sees silver heading...

Silver Prices Will Reach This Target by the End of 2017

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Krauth's forecast shows the price of silver rising 20.5% from its current $18.75 level to $22 by the end of the year. And that could be a conservative estimate if India institutes a limit on gold ownership.

If the country does limit how much gold Indian citizens can own, the silver price could shoot even higher to $24.

That's because India is the world's largest silver importer at 340 million ounces in 2015. It even surpassed the United States, which brought in about 193 million ounces that year.

And India's record silver demand could increase even more if the government institutes a new policy in response to its recent currency crisis...

You see, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced last November that the country's two most common rupee notes would be immediately withdrawn from circulation. When those 500-rupee and 1000-rupee notes were made invalid, about 86% of all cash in circulation became worthless.

The decision has heavily damaged the nation's economy. Since about 98% of India's consumer transactions are done in cash, citizens were essentially left penniless. Banks faced cash shortages, so they couldn't loan to small businesses.

Citizens reacted by buying as much gold as possible before their cash became worthless. The local spot price of gold in India skyrocketed to $2,800 an ounce.

Krauth says this gold frenzy could push Modi to implement a policy limiting how much gold each citizen can own. According to Indian institutional investor Jayant Bhandari, the government is already taking measures to prevent individuals from owning too much. These measures include placing more tax scrutiny on those who own more than 500 grams worth of gold jewelry.

If Modi formally limits ownership, Indian citizens may have no other choice but to buy silver. Such a gold policy could send silver prices up 28% to $24.

"Rumors that the Indian government will restrict the amount of gold individuals can own, which will only push the metal-buying public - hundreds and hundreds of millions of people - into silver," Krauth explained.

Regardless of India's currency crisis, silver is still poised for a return of 20% or more this year thanks to ongoing market volatility.

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