Silver roseto $90.73 per ounce Wednesday, up 4.16% on the day, its highest print sinceFebruary 4. The intraday high tagged just below $91, a level the market has notseen in three weeks. At the time of writing, the metal is holding near $90.70,consolidating just above the breakout zone.Silver pricesurge may be the most technically significant of the year so far. In thisarticle, I examine why silver is surging today, analyze the chart in detailbased on my over a decade of experience as an analyst and trader, and presentthe newest silver price predictions from major institutions and marketanalysts.Followme on X for more silver market analysis: @ChmielDkSilver Price Today:Breaking Out of February's RangeTounderstand the significance of this move, context matters. Silver plunged fromits all-time high of $121.67 on January 29 to lows near $70in early February - one of the most violent precious metals selloffsin recent history, a crash I covered in detail at the time in Why SilverPrice Crashed 33%: Fed Chair, Reuters Panic and Algo Selloff. The entire month of February hassince been a slow, grinding recovery - until today. Year-over-year, silverremains up approximately 184%.Accordingto my technical analysis, today's session is delivering the most importantsignal of the month. As shown on my chart, silver has spent all of Februaryoscillating inside a well-defined consolidation channel withclear boundaries:Upper resistance (now broken): $90 - the ceiling of February's range, aligned with structural price memoryChannel midpoint / key support: $80 - aligning precisely with the December 29 highs and the 50 EMA, which has been moving horizontally throughout the monthChannel floor: $70 - the early February lows, the deepest point of the post-ATH correctionToday'scandle is testing a breakout above that upper boundary. A daily orweekly close above $90 is the confirmation signal I am watching. Ifsilver achieves that close, the technical path reopens toward:$100 - the psychological level and first major target$118 - the January 26 session highs, which represent the ultimate resistance before the ATH zone. Note: while silver traded above $118 on January 29, the session closed below that level - meaning $118 continues to act as significant resistance, not just a waypoint$121.67 - the all-time highThe bearishscenario requires watching carefully too. A failure to hold $90 and a returninto the consolidation channel would not be catastrophic on its own - but abreakdown below the $70 floor would open a much more seriousmove toward $55-$59 per ounce, where the November 13 structuralpeaks and the 200 EMA currently sit. That is the level thatwould truly challenge the bull market thesis.Why Is Silver Going Up:Tariff War Resumes With Full ForceThecatalyst for Wednesday's move is the same force that has been driving preciousmetals all month - but with fresh intensity. After the Supreme Court struckdown Trump's IEEPA tariff framework last Thursday, markets briefly exhaled.That relief lasted less than 24 hours.Trumpresponded by imposing 15% global tariffs under Section 122,then threatened additional duties against any country that "playsgames" with current trade arrangements. The shifting policy stance hasmade it impossible for institutional traders to price certainty into anyrisk-asset position - and when uncertainty spikes, silver and gold are theinstinctive beneficiaries."Silverhas witnessed dramatic moves in recent days, reflecting the sensitivity of thisdual-natured metal - both investment and industrial - to political and monetaryshocks at the same time," said Rania Gule, Senior Market Analystat XS.com.[#highlighted-links#] As shenoted about the recent pattern: "What happened does not represent a trendreversal as much as it reflects a rapid repricing of a sudden political shock,followed by the natural behavior of markets that tend to test extremes beforestabilizing new positions."The secondmacro driver is US-Iran tensions. Diplomatic talks are scheduled toresume Thursday, with Trump reiterating his preference for a negotiatedresolution while warning of "serious consequences" if no nuclear dealis secured. That combination - open negotiation with a military ultimatumattached - is the precise kind of headline that keeps safe-haven demandelevated without fully releasing it."Thesharp rally was not surprising," Gule added. "Trade escalationtypically revives investor appetite for hedging assets, particularly in aglobal environment marked by slowing growth and rising geopoliticalpolarization."Beyondthe immediate catalysts, the structural picture remains firmly in silver'scorner:Five consecutive annual supply deficits, with the Silver Institute projecting no resolution in 2026China's new silver export licensing system, implemented January 1, 2026, restricting physical flows from the world's largest silver-producing nationCOMEX registered silver inventories below 100 million ounces for the first time since records began - a level crossed last weekIndustrial demand from solar manufacturing, AI infrastructure buildout, EV production, and defense electronics showing no signs of slowingSilver's Contradictions:The Industrial Hedge DilemmaSilver'sdual nature - simultaneously a safe-haven asset and an industrial input -creates a tension that distinguishes it from gold. Gule of XS.com put itplainly: "Silver differs from gold in that it is more sensitive to theeconomic cycle, given its close link to industrial demand. A trade shock thatheightens concerns about supply chains may support prices through safe-havenflows in the short term, while simultaneously raising questions about globalindustrial activity in the medium term."Thiscontradiction partly explains the swift profit-taking that followed Monday'sinitial 6% surge to $89, before the market found footing and built higheragain. It also explains why silver's intraday volatility continues to dwarfgold's - and why the technical structure I outlined above matters so much.Silver needs to close sessions above key levels, not just tag them intraday.As JPMorgannoted in its February 2026 outlook, silver's 130%+ rise through 2025 was"fueled by industrial demand and uncertainty over tariff regulations"- precisely the same combination driving today's move.Silver Price Prediction2026: Where Do Analysts See the Price Going?The rangeof credible forecasts for silver in 2026 is extraordinarily wide - reflectingboth genuine analytical disagreement and the unprecedented nature of recentprice action."I'mvery bullish the metals. My silver target is $180 and gold $6,800 - and I thinkwe could see those targets reached in the second quarter," said macrostrategist David Hunter. Rashad Hajiyev goes further, arguing thatif the Gold/Silver Ratio continues its compression toward the 2011 low of 30,"$250 silver becomes a mathematical expectation with gold at $7,500."The ratio currently sits near 57-59 - its lowest level since2011.For broaderinstitutional context on where gold fits into this picture, see myanalysis: Gold PricePrediction 2026: How High Can Gold Really Go?Silver's Road Back to$100: Key Milestones to WatchTherecovery from February's brutal lows has been steady but not smooth. After theJanuary 29-30 crash - which I documented in Why Gold IsFalling With Silver Today: The Strongest XAU and XAG Selloff in 13 Years - silver found support near$70 and began rebuilding. The February13 session produced another sharp 10% decline, covered in Why Is SilverFalling With Gold? Silver Price Crashes 3rd Hardest in 6 Years, before the metal stabilized andbegan its current recovery. Monday's session - detailed in Why Silver IsSurging With Gold Price and Why Analyst Predicts $400 in 2026 - was the first sign thisbreakout attempt was building momentum.Today'sclose is the one that matters most. As shown on my chart, the $90 level is notjust resistance - it is the gate. Everything technically interestinghappens above it.FAQWhy is silver going uptoday?Silver issurging Wednesday due to renewed safe-haven demand driven by Trump's 15% globaltariff escalation and ongoing US-Iran nuclear tensions, with talks resumingThursday. The move also reflects a technical breakout above the $90 resistancethat has capped February's entire consolidation range, attracting momentumbuyers.How high can silver go in2026?Based on mytechnical analysis, a sustained close above $90 targets $100, then $118resistance, and ultimately the $121.67 all-time high. Institutional forecastsrange from HSBC's $68 average - already well exceeded - to David Hunter's $180and Rashad Hajiyev's $250-$400 in a high-conviction bull scenario where theGold/Silver Ratio compresses to 20-30.What is the silver priceprediction for 2026?JPMorgansees silver averaging $60-$90, underpinned by structural supply deficits andindustrial demand. Bank of America's $65 target has already been surpassed.More aggressive analysts target $150-$400, with the structural case built onfive consecutive deficit years, China export controls, and COMEX inventorydepletion.What could stop silver'srally?A failureto hold $90 on a daily close and a return into the $70-$90 consolidationchannel would be the first warning sign. A breakdown below $70 - the Februarylows - would open a move toward $55-$59, where the November structural peaksand the 200 EMA converge. Macro resolution of the tariff situation or a US-Irandeal could temporarily reduce safe-haven demand and trigger profit-taking.This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.