This year has been very good to gold (GCG26) and silver (SIH26) market bulls, as Comex futures prices have gained around $1,700 so far this year and silver has more than doubled in price. Will 2026 be as kind to the two precious metals?
Given that this year’s price gains in both gold and silver are set to be the biggest ever, it would be a very tall order to expect price action in 2026 to be stronger than that seen in 2025. But you never really know — especially in the endeavor of trying to analyze and forecast raw commodity markets prices.
The longer-term price charts for gold and silver have gone “parabolic” in trading parlance, which means price action has been nearly straight up on the monthly bar charts. This suggests that from a time perspective, the years-long bull runs in gold and silver are way closer to their ends than to their beginnings.
Still, the climaxing phase of a major bull move in a raw commodity market can show explosive price action to the upside before the bull rum finally ends.
Silver is presently likely seeing that final, explosive price gain phase. For perspective, when I started covering the silver market in the mid-1980s, silver’s price was around $5.00 an ounce. A big daily price move for silver back then was five cents. As I write this story today, silver futures prices are up $2.70 on the day.
Following are some trend-line gold and silver price projections for time periods in 2026, based on trend lines drawn from the weekly continuation charts for nearby Comex gold and silver futures. Keep in mind, this is more of an interesting analysis than it is a compelling, actionable analysis for traders and investors. In other words, odds are not great that all these projected prices will occur at precisely the times mentioned. It’s more of a fun exercise.
Gold Prices in 2026
Early February: $4,475.00
Early May: $5,180.00
Early August: $5,857.00
Late: December: $6,893.00
Silver Prices in 2026
Early February: $56.68
Early May: $69.00
Early August: $79.50
Late: December: $97.85
Remember, “don’t bet the farm” on these numbers.
In a Rare Occurrence, Silver Is Leading Gold
In my 40-plus-year career of reporting on the commodity markets, including metals, I cannot think of another time when gold traders were looking so closely at the silver market for daily guidance on price direction. I think such will continue to be the case for the next few weeks.
I’m still bullish, overall, on gold and silver, longer term, based on the bullish longer-term technicals that remain in place. Fundamentals are also rock-solid. Global central banks continue to stock up on gold reserves. Silver’s rally this year is due in part to tightening silver inventories and robust retail and industrial demand, particularly from the expanding solar, electric vehicle, and data center industries.
The silver market at present is arguably very extended and may see some consolidation and a pause from the strong and record-setting bull market run. In fact, the trend-line analysis shows silver seeing a setback in early 2026, before resuming its ascent. If silver prices pull back significantly, gold will do the same. Stay tuned!
Tell me what you think. I really enjoy getting emails from my valued Barchart readers all over the world. Email me at jim@jimwyckoff.com.
On the date of publication, Jim Wyckoff did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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