5 Top Silver News Stories of 2016

Silver prices surged in 2016 after a tough 2015. Political developments and announcements worldwide have kept silver-focused investors seeking out for news about the precious metal throughout the year.
Here, the Investing News Network (INN) has gathered the most popular silver news stories of 2016.
Read on to see what top silver news stories of 2016 grabbed the attention of our investor audience.

1. A Strong Start for Silver Prices

After a troubled 2015, the white metal prices had a strong start this year. As of March 30, and after the Federal Reserve had announced to leave interest rates unchanged, the precious metal had gained over 8 percent.
Silver hit a high of $15.90 after the announcement on March 17. At the time, many market watchers were suggesting that further gains could be in store later in the year. In particular, analysts said that the Fed’s decision to leave interest rates low could positively impact silver (and gold) even down the road.

2. A Weaker US Dollar Boosts Silver Prices

The gold-silver ratio was at its highest since February 2008 in the first two months of this year, hitting an 11-month high in April, outperforming the gold price. According to Commerzbank, the silver price per ounce had benefited from a weaker US dollar, strong ETF inflows and purchases from speculative investors.

3. Silver Price Leaps Over $20 an Ounce After Brexit Results

Another top silver news story of 2016 happened back in July, after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. Silver price jumped over $20 an ounce for the first time in roughly two years and outshined gold in the post-brexit precious metal rally.
The Wall Street Journal reported that while gold was up 7 percent, silver was up significantly more, at 17 percent. In total, silver prices gained 10.5 percent the week after Brexit results.

4. Trump Wins the US Election

Trump won 276 electoral college votes against 218 for Hillary Clinton and is set to the be United States’ 45th president, but his historical win does not come without uncertainty. As CNN put it, “there are deeper, more fundamental questions about Trump’s presidency that will be key to his capacity to unify a deeply divided country.”
Last November, analyst, author and speaker David Morgan was interviewed by INN CEO, Nick Smith, about the impact of the United States presidential election of 2016 on the price of precious metals.
“The economic and financial conditions are entrenched so deep, and so far, and so wide that we have a precious metals bull market,” he said.

5. US Federal Reserve Raises Interest Rates

Last but not least in our top silver news of 2016 is the announcement of the interest rates raising by a quarter percentage point to a range of 0.50 percent and 0.75 percent.  The announcement  was expected by everyone since on November Fed Chair Janet Yellen hinted that rates could rise “relatively soon”.
The Federal Reserve, in a unanimous decision, made it official on December 15, raising rates for the first time in the year and only the second time in a decade. They also announced that they expect to raise interest rates three times in 2017.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.