In order to glean a better understanding of the precious metal’s chances of trading around the US$100 range, it’s important to examine the elements that could push it to that level or pull it further away. The strength of the US dollar and US Federal Reserve interest rate changes are factors that will continue to affect the precious metal, as are geopolitical issues and supply and demand dynamics. Although Neumeyer believes that the ties that bind silver to gold need to be broken, the reality is that most of the same factors that shape the price of gold also move silver. For that reason, it’s helpful to look at gold price drivers when trying to understand silver’s price action. Silver is, of course, the more volatile of the two precious metals, but nevertheless it often trades in relative tandem with gold. Looking first at the Fed and interest rates, it's useful to understand that higher rates are generally negative for gold and silver, while lower rates tend to be positive. That's because when rates are higher interest shifts to products that can accrue interest. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Fed cut rates down to zero from 1 to 1.25 percent. However, rising inflation has led the Fed and other central banks to hike rates, which has negatively impacted gold and silver. In February 2023, the Fed raised rates by just 25 basis points, the smallest hike since March 2022, as Chair Jerome Powell said the process of disinflation has begun. The Fed has continued these small rate hikes since, with the latest coming in July. While central bank actions are important for gold, and by extension silver, a key price driver lately has been geopolitical uncertainty. The past few years have been filled with major geopolitical events such as tensions between the US and other countries such as North Korea, China and Iran. More recently, the huge economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia's war with Ukraine and the banking crisis earlier this year have been sources of concern for investors. On a separate note, silver’s close ties to gold’s safe-haven status should be beneficial in the long term, and there is also a strong case to made for the metal's industrial potential. According to CIBC analysts in mid-2021, higher industrial demand from emerging sectors due to factors like the transition to renewable energy will be highly supportive for the metal over the next few years.