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Silver prices soared to a 10-month high of around $17 an ounce early Tuesday morning. The weaker dollar and the rising crude oil price tend to tamp down deflation concerns, even to a degree that could raise hopes among precious metal traders for a little more inflation.

Silver prices went on a tear Monday morning, following the news on the failure of the Doha talks to reach an agreement from producers regarding a freeze on output. Oil prices plunged initially, but recovered to close the day higher as the dollar continued to weaken against the yen.

Mining stocks have followed silver prices higher, with some pretty impressive gains. Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) added about 7.5% Tuesday morning to trade at $18.20; Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL) added around 8% to trade at $3.62; Coeur Mining Inc. (NYSE: CDE) added about 6.5%, trading around $7.24; and Pan American Silver Corp. (NASDAQ: PAAS) traded at $13.69, up about 6.7%.

To some degree, silver prices are still trying to catch up to gold prices. That indicates that an investor who may be looking to add to a gold stash may want to have a look at “underperforming” silver.

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