What is the current price of silver per ounce today?
The price of silver opened at $30.27 per ounce, as of 9 a.m. ET. That’s down 0.67% from the previous day and up 26.53% year to date.
The lowest trading price within the last day: $30.21 per ounce. The highest silver spot price in the last 24 hours: $30.67 per ounce.
Silver spot price
The spot silver price reflects what traders buy and sell silver for immediately, or on the spot. In contrast, the futures price reflects the price for silver delivered in later months.
The spot price for silver in the foreign exchange market is denoted as XAG/USD. Traders buy and sell silver 24/7 globally, so its price fluctuates constantly.
The price of XAG/USD reflects the value of one ounce of silver in U.S. dollars, and it is traded like traditional currency pairs. Because silver trades occur globally, investors can also track the spot price of silver in other currencies, such as XAG/EUR for euros and XAG/GBP for British pounds.
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.
Silver is up 26.53% over the last 12 months as of 9 a.m. ET. It reached a 52-week high of $32.51 on May 19, 2024. Its 52-week low was $20.69 on Oct. 2, 2023.
The spot price is the current market rate at which silver can be bought or sold for immediate payment and delivery. Spot prices for precious metals are expressed in troy ounces. One troy ounce equals 1.097 standard ounces. This unit of measurement is used almost exclusively to price precious metals.
Silver’s spot price is influenced by various factors and impacted by futures contracts.
Precious metals prices
Investors can trade four main precious metals via physical bullion, exchange-traded products or futures contracts. Gold, palladium and platinum spot prices are updated 24/7 in various currencies like silver spot prices.
Gold/silver ratio
The gold/silver ratio is the price of an ounce of gold divided by the price of silver per ounce. As of today, the gold/silver price ratio is 77.88.
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.
Silver price history
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 futures
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
Silver exchange-traded products come in various legal structures, including closed-end funds and grantor trusts.
These ETPs generally hold silver bullion in audited storage regardless of their structure. They trade on exchanges with tickers similar to stocks, allowing investors to buy shares representing fractional exposure to the silver stored.
The price of a silver ETP can fluctuate, trading at discounts or premiums to its net asset value. This variation is often due to supply and demand imbalances in the market.
Additionally, investors should be aware of annual management fees and other expenses, which can impact overall returns.
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?
Various economic factors affect silver’s price movement. Your objectives, risk tolerance and time horizon also impact whether silver is a good investment.
Silver is one way to diversify a portfolio that includes stocks and bonds. But it can be volatile and risky. Consider your options before investing in silver.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
No, gold is rarer than silver. And platinum is rarer than both silver and gold.
The rarity of a precious metal is understood through its mass fraction. That’s how much of the metal can be found per billion kilograms of the Earth’s crust. Silver is present at 75 parts per billion, while gold is present at four parts per billion.
Silver’s effectiveness as a hedge against inflation is mixed and varies by time and location. Some studies indicate that silver does not correlate well with consumer price movements in the U.S. But there has been some correlation in the U.K. market over the long run.
But for a more reliable hedge against inflation, investors might consider other commodities like energy and agricultural products. These often have a more direct and consistent relationship with inflationary trends.
