What is the current price of silver today?
Silver’s price as of 9 a.m. ET was $30.74 per ounce. That’s up 1.55% from the previous day and up 28.49% since the beginning of the year.
The lowest price for the precious metal in the last 24 hours was $30.18 per ounce per ounce. The highest was $31.00 per ounce.
Silver spot price
Silver’s spot price is the price at which the precious metal can be bought or sold right now. That’s different from futures contracts, where you secure silver for delivery at a later date.
XAG/USD represents silver’s spot price in U.S. dollars. The price in euros is XAG/EUR. For British pounds, it’s XAG/GBP. The market is active 24/7, so prices are constantly in flux.
Silver price chart
This chart shows how silver’s spot price has trended over the last year. The data is updated at 9 a.m. ET and doesn’t have intraday lows or highs.
As of 9 a.m., silver was up 28.49% since Jan. 1. It hit its 52-week high of $32.51 on May 19, 2024. The 52-week low was $20.69 on Oct. 2, 2023.
The spot price represents the current market rate, or what the price is “on the spot.” Like gold prices, silver prices are typically provided in troy ounces. One troy ounce equals 1.097 standard ounces.
Various factors drive spot prices for silver. Many investors opt to trade using futures contracts rather than spot prices.
Precious metals prices
You can trade four main precious metals via physical bullion, exchange-traded products or futures contracts. They are silver, gold, platinum and palladium. All trade 24/7 in various currencies.
Gold/silver ratio
The gold/silver ratio is the price of gold per ounce divided by the price of silver per ounce. Today, it’s 76.69.
The gold/silver ratio helps you understand how the value of gold and the value of silver fluctuate over time relative to each other.
A high ratio means gold is more expensive than silver. This preference for gold as a haven could suggest economic uncertainty. A low ratio means gold is becoming less expensive or silver is gaining value.
The gold/silver ratio can also help you identify buying or selling opportunities. For example, a historically high ratio may be a cue to buy silver, as the ratio could revert to its long-term average.
History of silver prices
Silver prices reached their highest peak in January 1980, at around $49.45 per troy ounce. Conversely, their lowest trough was in February 1993, at around $3.56 per troy ounce.
Silver prices fluctuate based on multiple variables, such as supply and demand, geopolitical events, currency strength, economic data, and changes in investment trends. The historical spot price of silver has been characterized by high volatility, with fluctuations over the decades.
1970 – 2005
In the mid-1970s, silver was valued at less than $10 per ounce. But it saw a sharp rise toward the end of the 1970s, peaking at over $49 per ounce by 1980.
Despite this sharp rise, the prices fell back down, and by the late 1980s, silver was trading under $10 per ounce again.
2006 – 2024
Silver prices didn’t surpass $10 per ounce until 2006.
The Great Recession marked another significant period for silver prices. In March 2008, the price nearly doubled to about $20 per ounce, potentially driven by the global banking crisis and subsequent economic measures like quantitative easing.
But this was followed by another sharp decline, bringing prices back to around $10 per ounce in October 2008. Silver experienced another historical climb, reaching above $45 per ounce in April 2011.
This history reflects the silver market’s deep drawdowns and high run-ups. Various factors, such as economic crises, market speculation and investor behavior, influence these market shifts.
Silver future prices
Global exchanges exist in London, Hong Kong, Zurich, New York and Chicago. They allow for nearly 24-hour silver trading. The COMEX plays an essential role in setting silver spot prices. This branch of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange uses futures contracts to project silver prices.
Silver futures are contracts to buy or sell silver for a set price at a set future date.
Silver exchange-traded products
Do you want to invest in silver using your normal broker? Then you might consider exchange-traded products. ETPs have ticker symbols and trade like stocks on exchanges. They typically hold physical bullion stored in audited facilities. Shares represent ownership of a fraction of that silver.
Note that ETPs may have management fees. They may also have tracking errors relative to silver’s spot price.
Investing in silver
There are three primary ways to invest in silver:
- Bullion.Directly owning physical silver is a simple way to invest. But you’ll need a place to store it. You’ll likely want insurance too. These costs can eat into your returns.
- Futures. Futures contracts are a popular way to speculate on silver prices. They also let you hedge against price movements. Note that futures can be risky, especially if you’re trading on margin.
- ETPs. ETPs are available in most brokerage accounts, making them accessible. Their downsides include potential management fees and tracking errors.
Is buying silver a good investment?
Whether silver is a good investment depends on an investor’s objectives, risk tolerance and the specific time considered. For some, silver can be a way to diversify a portfolio that already includes stocks and bonds.
But investors must be aware of several factors: the limitations in accessing silver in different forms, its high volatility, and the potential for extended negative or flat return periods.
It’s also important to understand that investments in silver can experience multiyear troughs and may not always align with broader market trends or inflationary pressures.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Silver’s highest historical price was $49.45 per ounce on Jan. 18, 1980.
Investors can gain silver exposure in their IRA through two main methods. One way is by including silver ETPs in their individual retirement account. This method allows investors to have an investment linked to silver without needing physical storage.
Alternatively, investors can use a silver IRA provider to open a specialized IRA that holds physical silver. In this case, the investor’s IRA invests in silver bars or coins stored in a secure, IRS-approved depository.
The process requires choosing a custodian that specializes self-directed IRAs to manage the purchase, storage and security of the physical silver.
