NEWYORK (Commodity Online): Silver was the best-performing commodity for the third quarter, ended September 30, 2012 says Michael Lombardi, financial expert and lead contributor to Profit Confidential. The third round of quantitative easing (QE3), silver prices are set to go higher still and the returns could be phenomenal.

“Silver rose about 53% after the first round of QE from 2008 to 2010—twice as much as gold bullion,” Lombardi points out. “In the second round of QE, silver rose 24%—three times the performance of gold bullion.”

Lombardi believes that now that QE3 has been announced, silver should continue to rise like it did before the first two rounds of QE were announced; but this time, he says, it’s a different situation.

“The Federal Reserve is not the only one printing more fiat currency; the other central banks around the world are doing the same,” reports Lombardi.

In the article “Why QE3 Means More for Silver Than Gold This Year,” Lombardi explains that paper currency can be created in unlimited quantities, while there is only a limited amount of silver and gold bullion in the ground.

The Profit Confidential lead contributor also notes that silver miners are gaining momentum to the upside, similar to Silvercorp. Metals, trading in a down trend for a major portion of the year and was mired in controversy last year, Lombardi states.

“With the recent hike in silver prices, the company’s stock broke its down trend, and it has been rising,” he reports. “Similarly, the stock of Pan American Silver has not only changed its direction from the down trend, but the company is also estimating higher profits.”

Also, Lombardi concludes that silver and gold bullion miners are shining like never before with many opportunities available for investors, while other companies are cutting their revenue and earnings outlooks.