Silver Makes Highest Quarterly Close In History
Silver finished Q3 2025 at $46.66/oz, the highest quarterly closing level in history.
On Tuesday afternoon, silver posted its highest quarterly closing price in history, at $46.66/oz.
Silver (Quarterly)
The previous all-time high close for silver was $37.60 in March 2011. This means that while many investors are obsessed with the $50/oz level (January 1980 and April 2011 highs), silver is already in breakout mode.
Today’s silver price action may seem white hot, however, if we look back to the 1979/1980 period we can quickly discern that today’s ascent is calm by comparison. Between July and the end of December 1979, silver rose from $8/oz to $32/oz. Then, over the span of a few weeks in January 1980 silver surged from $32/oz to $50/oz!
Looking back on that 1979/80 silver market we can see how unstable it was, and how the January 1980 high was untenable. The market hadn’t had enough time to build a proper foundation, making the $8 to $50 move over the span of seven months a classic bubble.
The story of the Hunt Brothers and their spectacular failed attempt to corner the silver market adds important historical context to the 1979/80 price action.
Today, the situation is very different—silver has constructed a solid foundation over the last 50 years, including the 2011-2020 bear market period and the failed breakdown spike low at $11.64/oz in March 2020—silver is poised to break-out above the $50/oz level, potentially targeting the mid-$70s by the end of 2026.
Silver (Quarterly)
The cup & handle interpretation to the above chart is a bit controversial; most technicians do not like to see a drawdown in the ‘handle’ exceeding 50% of the ‘cup’. In addition, the duration of the handle phase is usually much shorter relative to the cup phase.
We could also draw the chart like this:
Silver (Quarterly)
I am not a technical analysis nerd who obsesses over every detail. However, I believe the essence of the cup-and-handle pattern is valid in the long-term silver chart. Depending on how one calculates it, the pattern projects a breakout target somewhere in the $70s. That said, I should emphasize that this is a quarterly chart. This means we could see three or four quarters of additional consolidation below $50/oz, and it would not change anything regarding the long-term structure of the chart. In fact, a longer consolidation would only make the inevitable breakout to new nominal all-time highs more powerful.
Ah, I just used the word nominal. This is an important point. A $50 bill in 1980 held far more purchasing power than a $50 bill does today. Adjusted for inflation, the 1980 high translates to well above $200/oz in today’s dollars.
A few more points regarding the quarterly silver chart:
The Quarterly-RSI(14) is still well below its 1980 and 2011 peaks.
The Quarterly-TSI (True Strength Index) is still well below its 2008/2011 peaks.
Silver futures trading volume is expanding modestly during the 2025 rally, however, it remains well below its 2011 and 2020 peaks. I expect silver trading volumes will make new all-time highs during the breakout move above $50/oz.
I should also note that silver mining stocks are confirming this silver bull market. In fact, the miners are outpacing silver’s advance (slightly more than 2x) and trading volumes in the miners are also confirming the health of the rally.
SIL (Monthly)
I’ll conclude by stating that at the current pace, it looks like silver will trade above $50/oz before Halloween. However, I wouldn’t be surprised by a pullback or sideways consolidation over the next few weeks. It’s just that this market doesn’t feel like a “sideways consolidation” kind of market.
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