Steem price is linked with the rest of the crypto market. currently there is a bearish trend that is hovering over all crypto currencies the trend can reverse based on many factors. here are a few i can think of
When we see a reversal in bitcoin and crypto market. A strong rally upwards will trigger an altcoin rally including steem.
When there is a very good news that brings new investment into steem platform, if the investment is sizeable the downtrend will reverse, we have seen this happen with other coins also it can happen here too. Smart Media Tokens by Steem have been announced to be released sometime in 2018 that could trigger a rally of its own.
Pump n Dump. We have seen in the past that when bitcoin price was relatively stable steem went from 1.3 to $4.2 we can see something similar at any given time.
When the price is too low and attract the sharks - When the price broke below $1.30 i emptied my pockets but looks like the sharks are waiting for a bigger bite. i think when the price goes below $1, it will invite alot of sharks.
there could be other reasons too these are just my thoughts.