Silver price today: Silver is down 1.70%, trading at $30.85
What is the current price of silver today?
Silver traded at $30.85 per ounce as of 9 a.m. ET. That represents a decrease of 1.70% over the past 24 hours. Year to date, silver is up 28.92%.
On the last day, it has reached a low of $30.36 and a high of $31.42.
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
See the chart below for how silver spot prices have changed over the past year. The data is updated at 9 a.m. ET and doesn’t have intraday lows or highs.
As of 9 a.m., silver is up 28.92% since the beginning of the year. The 52-week high reached $32.51 on May 19, 2024, and the 52-week low dropped to $20.69 on Oct. 2, 2023.
The spot price of silver represents the current market rate at which silver can be exchanged and immediately delivered. Similar to gold, silver prices can be provided in troy ounces, grams and kilograms. Notably, a troy ounce, the standard unit for quoting silver prices, is slightly heavier than a standard ounce, with one troy ounce equaling 31.103 grams or 1.097 ounces.
The worldwide silver spot price calculation is a complex process, influenced by several factors and majorly impacted by futures contracts rather than physical silver trading.
Precious metals spot 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 85.17.
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 hit their historic high of nearly $50 per troy ounce in January 1980. The lowest price was $3.56 per troy ounce in February 1993.
Supply and demand, economic data, currency strength, changes in investment trends, and geopolitical events affect silver prices. Thus, the spot price of silver has experienced significant fluctuations over the years.
1970 – 2005
Silver traded for under $10 per troy ounce in the mid-1970s. It peaked at $49.45 per troy ounce in 1980. By the late 1980s, silver spot prices had fallen back under $10.
2006 – 2024
Silver prices didn’t clear $10 again until 2006.
Another significant period for silver prices came during the Great Recession. The price spiked to about $20 per troy ounce in March 2008. But it slid back below $10 by October that year.
A historic climb followed, with prices clearing $45 an ounce by April 2011.
Silver futures
Key global exchanges facilitate nearly 24-hour silver trading. They exist in cities such as New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, London and Zurich. The COMEX, a branch of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, uses futures contracts to project silver prices. In this way, it plays an essential role in setting the silver spot price.
Futures contracts set delivery dates and delivery prices. They’re a popular way to speculate on the prices of commodities, including precious metals. That popularity means trading futures on exchanges is relatively easy.
Silver exchange-traded products
Silver exchange-traded products have a variety of structures. These include closed-end funds and grantor trusts.
ETPs typically operate by holding silver bullion in audited storage locations. They trade like stocks on exchanges. Investors buy shares that represent fractional ownership of the stored silver. Note that management fees and other expenses can impact returns.
Investing in silver
Investing in silver can be approached in several ways, each with unique benefits and considerations:
- Bullion. This direct method involves owning physical silver bars and coins. But investors must consider storage and insurance costs, dealer markups, and the bid-ask spread when buying and selling.
- ETPs. These are available in most brokerage accounts and offer a more accessible alternative. But investors face ongoing annual expense ratios and possible tracking errors relative to the spot price of silver. It’s important to note that redeeming shares for physical silver is only sometimes guaranteed.
- Futures.Futures allow for speculation or hedging against price movements. Trading these derivatives is done on margin, making it highly volatile and potentially unpredictable. It requires a thorough understanding of the market and its risks.
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)
Gold is rarer than silver. The rarity of these metals can be understood through their mass fraction, which indicates how much of the metal can be found per billion kilograms of Earth’s crust.
Gold is found at a rate of four parts per billion, while silver is more abundant at 75 parts per billion. This means that while there is a significant amount of gold in the Earth’s crust, it’s much less than silver.
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.