Why Silver Stocks Could Outperform the Silver Price by 55.5% Before 2018

Halloween already seems like a distant memory, but it may have marked an interim bottom for the silver price.

That day was when silver prices fell 0.9% to close near a four-week low of $16.69. So far, the price of silver hasn't stabilized above the $17 level since declining 6.7% from its Sept. 12 peak of $18.12. But it's managed to trade in a narrow $16.87 to $17.14 range over the last week, and I think this indicates bullish momentum is building for the metal.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) - which measures the dollar against other currencies like the euro and Swiss franc - has also pulled back from 94.91 to 94.14 today (Tuesday, Nov. 14). Meanwhile, the Dow Jones has been largely flat this month, down a small 0.07% since Nov. 1.

As much as silver prices may be a bargain today, it's silver stocks that deserve the most attention right now...

Other than uranium, I can hardly think of a sector that's been beaten down by traders like silver has. The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE Arca: SIL) - which tracks the performance of silver mining stocks - is down 11.4% over the last month, to its lowest level since April 2016.

The value of the silver stock sector right now makes for one of my most promising predictions of the year.

That's why I'm not only going to give you my bullish silver price target for the end of the year, but also my bullish prediction for how much gain silver stocks are in for before 2018. Let's just say I forecast silver stocks to outperform the silver price by as much as 55.5% by the end of December.

First, let's take a closer look at the silver price's performance over the last week...

Silver Price Falls 0.2% in the Last Week (Nov. 7-14)

After settling at $16.94 on Tuesday, Nov. 7, silver prices shot above the $17 level as the DXY traded flat for most of Wednesday's session. The DXY fell from 94.91 to 94.87, pushing the metal up to $17.14 by the close. That marked a 1.2% gain from Tuesday's close.

On Thursday, prices declined despite the DXY dropping from 94.87 to 94.44. Silver opened at $17.02 but fell back to $16.98 by the close for a 0.9% loss on the day.

Urgent: Executive Editor Bill Patalon just saw something on his precious metals charts he's only seen twice in 20 years. He calls it the "Halley's Comet of investing" - and it could lead to windfall profits. Read more...

The price of silver's decline continued into Friday, when the metal repeated behavior from the previous session. The metal opened above the $17 level again, at $17.06, before falling below it again, to $16.87, by the close. That marked a 0.6% drop on the day, which happened even as the DXY tumbled from 94.44 to 94.39.

Here's a look at the DXY's performance over the last five trading days...

silver price

Silver buyers returned yesterday (Monday, Nov. 13) to give prices a much-needed boost. Even as the DXY jumped from 94.39 to 94.52, the silver price climbed 1.1% throughout the day to settle at $17.05.

But silver prices today (Tuesday, Nov. 14) are back below $17 this morning. They're currently down 0.8% and trading at $16.91. If the metal closes at that level, it will have posted a weekly decline of 0.2%.

Despite being on track for a weekly loss, I think silver's recent performance shows a bullish pattern forming. That's why I think my bullish silver price target is still attainable before the end of the year.

But, as I mentioned earlier, I believe silver stocks have even more promising potential, which is why I'm going to show you my extremely bullish silver stock forecast for the rest of 2017...

My Bullish Forecasts for Silver Prices and Silver Stocks Before 2018

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If we look at the silver price since Aug. 7, we can see it's trading in a narrow range and forming a pretty clear triangle...

silver triangle

A maintained push above the 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $17.17 and $17.18 will need to happen before any big upside breakout. Once prices do push through those levels, I think they could shoot up from today's price to $18 in the near term. Beyond that, a $20.50 silver price is certainly still possible by the end of December, which would mark a 21.2% gain from the current price.

But silver stocks are where the incredible value lies right now. That's because they currently trade at their lowest level in 19 months, making them a discount buy right now...

silver lowest level in 19 months

I said last week that the Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE Arca: SIL) could test the December 2016 low of $30.84, and we've just moved below that to $30.64. In other words, sentiment is negative.

But if we look at the silver stocks/silver ratio, we're already at the lowest level since silver and silver stocks blasted higher early last year. Sectors this cheap right now are rare...

silver stocks

Given how the price of silver itself has outperformed SIL by 11.1% this year, it's hard to imagine there's much lower for SIL to go. Not to mention, the Relative Strength Indicator (highlighted) is far into oversold territory, at 25.5, and the moving average convergence divergence indicator (highlighted) is also.

A rally for silver stocks is likely in the cards, and it could be a violent one. Value this compelling is almost nowhere to be found in any market sector.

I think the ETF could see a quick bounce from today's $30 level to $36, making for an easy 20% gain. But I think SIL could rebound to its 2016 high of $53 by the end of 2017. That would be a tremendous 76.7% gain from today's level, beating my predicted silver price gain by 55.5%.

Let's just say the risk-reward setup in silver stocks right now is looking too irresistible to ignore.

Up Next: Rare Gold Anomaly

Money Morning Executive Editor Bill Patalon just caught something on his gold charts that he's only seen twice in the past 20 years. A $13 billion gold anomaly he calls the "Halley's Comet of investing."

It's very rare, and fleeting, and Bill sees things lining up perfectly to bring some very sizeable precious metal profits to well-positioned investors.

Click here to check out his research...

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