Silver has been on a tear this year, rising from just below $14 per ounce to $19 today.

But if you think the last six months have been spectacular, then buckle up, because as Future Money Trends highlights in their latest precious metals update, it’s about surge much higher:

The silver supply deficit is about to explode. A real, annual physical deficit is about to erupt in the silver market… The 2015 deficit ballooned to a 130 million ounce shortfall. According to Societe Generale, the silver supply in 2016 is likely to decrease another 9.2%. This, of course, has everything to do with base metal mine cutbacks, of which we’ve seen major mine closures in the past two years.

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Silver demand, which has been on the rise, is surging… Supply is cliff diving due to base metal mine closures and cutbacks. The U.S. Mint is on track to sell another record amount of coins this year… The demand for silver is about to surge much higher for three key reasons:

1. We have a confirmed bull market in 2016. This will attract both institutional money and money from the public in general

2. One third of central banks have a negative interest rate policy. The investment demand for silver won’t be regional. It’s going to be global.

3. The mining shares are a leading indicator and our top pick for the sector is up over 600% year-to-date.

Earlier this year Daniel Ameduri of Future Money Trends said that smart money insiders were moving into the market in a very big way and alerted investors to a major trend change in the precious metals space, calling it the awakening of a new bull market. In the six months that followed we saw prices of the physical metals rise significantly, while shares of the mining companies who pull gold and silver out of the ground saw increases as high as 600%.

While the last few weeks have seen an expected pullback, the long-term trend remains intact and is set for the next leg up.

Article reposted with permission from SHTF Plan