Silver Price Guide

Answers to common questions about the spot price of silver:

What Is the Silver Spot Price?

”Spot” is the underlying price for one ounce of silver in most financial and commercial markets. In most parts of the world the silver price per ounce is quoted in US dollars.

The silver spot price is based on trading activity predominantly in ‘futures’ markets, where major producers, refiners, financial companies, and speculators set the prices for future deliveries of metal. It constantly fluctuates during market hours, depending on the activity of buyers and sellers. While trading of physical metal occurs on most exchanges, those trades are primarily used to hedge positions and as such are a derivative of futures, and thus have minimal impact on setting the price.

Silver trades around the world and around the clock. It trades from 6pm eastern to 5:15pm eastern, Sunday through Friday. In the US, the price is set at the COMEX exchange.

The London market also provides a silver “fix” price once per day (on business/trading days). The fix price is used to price contracts by institutions, producers, and other large market participants. Retail customers like you and I do not usually buy and sell based on the fix price, but on the spot price.

What Factors Impact the Silver Price?

Ordinary buying, selling, and speculating typically make for daily fluctuations you see to the spot price of silver.

Other factors, both direct and indirect, impact the price, too. The primary sources of demand are industrial use (56%), jewelry and silverware (33%), and investment (11%), all of which can influence the silver price positively or negatively.

Since silver is a form of money (though it does not circulate as currency), indirect factors can also impact its price, such as the performance of the US dollar, commodities, interest rates, inflation, and stock markets.

It is also important to note that the silver market is tiny in comparison to most other markets. The price can thus be more easily impacted by small amounts of buying and selling.

What Is the Current Silver Price?

The top of this page displays the silver price, where you can watch its daily movements. You can also check historical prices, and our interactive chart shows how it’s performing in relation to other assets.

What Is the Silver Price In My Currency?

Since silver is globally priced in US dollars, the spot price is the same in all markets. Traders and investors in non-US countries convert the US price to their local currency to reflect its value in their unit of currency.

If a currency experiences a big move relative to the US dollar, the silver price in that currency can be significantly different than the US price. In 2014, for example, the silver price rose in many developed countries, but fell in US dollars.

Why Is the Silver Spot Price Important?

The spot price of silver is the basis for all transactions in the market. Buying is based on the “ask” price, and selling is based on the “bid” price.

If you’re a buyer, you naturally want to see a low spot price. And when you someday sell, you’ll want a high spot price.

As noted above, a major distinction of the silver market is that the price can be volatile. The silver industry is tiny, so the price can see large fluctuations. It is not unusual to see the silver spot price move two or three times greater than the gold spot price.

Can I Buy Silver at the Spot Price?

No. The spot price is for “unfabricated” metal.

If you want to buy a silver product, a premium is added to the spot price, which varies depending on the type of product.

How Much Does Silver Cost?

It depends on the form you buy. The lowest premium items are silver bars. Slightly higher premiums are charged for silver coins, since they entail more intricate refining. Silver jewelry is rarely of bullion purity (.999%), and as such is not considered “investment” grade.

Silver premiums are typically higher than gold premiums. This is because it costs just as much to manufacture and refine a silver coin as a gold one, and yet it sells for a much lower price.

Here’s some great starter info on buying silver bars, and buying silver coins.