What’s Going To Happen To Silver Prices At The End Of 2016?

With the Federal Reserve raising interest rates this week, there’s been a lot of talk about the markets, the economy…and even the price of gold. But lost in the shuffle is silver: where it’s headed, where it is right now, and if there’s enough upward room or pressure to give investors reason for optimism.

As of the writing of this article, silver prices are at about $16.18, which is not as high as some would have thought going into the end of 2016. Does this mean there’s more room for upward mobility, or are silver prices down in this range to stay?

Silver Reels After Federal Reserve Decision

First, it’s worth noting that there was an obvious reaction in silver prices after this week’s announcement from the Federal Reserve, with Business Insider saying that the prices of gold and silver were “smashed.” At the time of that article’s publishing, silver futures were down to $15.97.

The article did quote one expert, however, who saw reasons for optimism in precious metals, including both gold and silver, quoting the RBC Capital Markets commodity trading strategists in their note: “we think a buying opportunity should present itself before or during the first few months of 2017.”

That leaves some optimism for those who want to see some returns for their precious metals in 2017 as they did throughout 2016. Although prices recently have wiped out many of these gains, it’s still been a relatively healthy year for precious metals overall.

Market Watch Sees Massive Potential—In Gold?

An opinion published at Market Watch today suggested that there is indeed some optimism for precious metals at the end of 2016 going into 2017. One can only assume that what’s good for gold tends to be good for the price of silver—although the two certainly aren’t linked by an iron chain, they do tend to go hand-in-hand as separate members of the same asset class.

Citing “inflationary US and Chinese policies,” this opinion foresees prices rising thanks to the same reason many goldbugs and silverbugs believe in the precious metals in the first place.

Is Optimism Warranted At This Point?

Silver prices may be down, especially relative to how well they were performing in the summer. Silverbugs looking for a buying opportunity, however, might find the current precious metals environment difficult. Is it really a dip right now, or is silver headed for even lower prices?

Right now, there may be some evidence of sluggishness in precious metals. But with the amount of optimism for 2017, anyone who believes in silver will likely see how low it is relative to its own historical price, especially with gold remaining safely in quadruple digits.

There may not be much movement for silver before January 1^st, 2017, but the key at that point will be discerning whether you believe that 2017 will be a good year for precious metals come December 31^st, 2017. And if you do, today’s silver prices may indeed represent a prime buying opportunity.