Current Silver Price
Keep track of silver’s moving prices with Metals Radar’s live silver prices chart. Our silver prices are refreshed every few minutes to give you the most up-to-date information for buying or selling silver. The silver prices chart automatically displays the live spot price of silver per oz in US dollars, however this can be changed to your local currency.
Silver is an excellent investment that offers many of the same benefits of gold at a fraction of the price. It acts as a portfolio diversifier, hedge against inflation, and tangible asset with intrinsic value that can preserve your wealth for generations. Unlike gold, however, silver is also valued by several industries for its unique properties and elemental nature. This industrial demand, coupled with various other factors, makes the silver market relatively volatile. This means prices can fluctuate up and down often, making it essential to keep track of movements to properly assess the value of your investments.
Come back to this chart often to keep an eye on silver spot prices and spot ideal opportunities to buy or sell silver. You can also use the chart to view historical silver prices by toggling it to display movements over the last quarter, month, year, five years, and 20 years.
What is the silver ‘spot price’?
The silver spot price is the live benchmark price of silver in US dollars per troy ounce (31.1g). In other words, this is how much you can expect to pay to buy one ounce of physical silver.
Note that the silver spot price refers to pure silver and you may pay more or less than the spot price depending on the type of silver you are buying. For example, silver bars tend to trade close to the spot price however silver coins can carry higher premiums, making them more expensive. Sterling silver jewelry will cost lower than the spot price due to its lower purity.
What’s a troy ounce?
Silver and other precious metals are measured in troy ounces. One troy ounce is slightly heavier than a regular ounce, equivalent to 31.1035 grams (regular ounces are 28.3495 grams). One kilogram contains 32.15 troy ounces.
When buying investment-grade silver bullion bars and coins, you’ll see prices quoted in troy ounces. Most silver coins can be purchased in denominations between 1/10 oz and 2 oz, while silver bars can vary between 1 oz up to 100 oz.
Who sets the price of silver?
Several parties are involved in setting the price of silver, including the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). The LBMA sets the global benchmark price for silver once a day with a daily auction that involves various banks and trading houses. The final price of the auction becomes the silver spot price.
Its price is generally set based on transactions on the spot markets, including the LBMA, the Commodity Exchange (COMEX), and the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE).
What drives silver prices?
Silver’s price is based on various factors, including supply and demand, technological advancements, economic factors, currency fluctuations, and more. These can all influence whether silver’s price is moving up or down.
Supply and demand
Like any other investment, silver’s price can depend on the balance between supply and demand. When demand is high and supply is low, silver’s price will naturally increase, and vice versa.
Silver mining production can influence supply and demand. For example, if a worker’s strike temporarily slowed down silver mining, its price would drive up. These factors can affect the price of silver year on year.
Also known as silver scrap, recycled silver can also impact supply and influence silver’s prices. Silver can be recycled from numerous sources, including old jewelry and coins as well as electronic scrap, industrial equipment and even old photography film. When there is lots of silver scrap that can be recycled, supply will be higher and the price of silver may decrease.
Technological advancements
Various technological advancements can increase industrial demand for silver, boosting its price. Silver is used in many industries, including electronics, automobiles, appliances, and photovoltaic cells used in solar panels. New technologies that rely on the use of silver can drive up its price. At the same time, technological innovation might lead to silver being replaced with other metals, decreasing its price.
Investor demand
Many investors turn to silver to diversify their portfolios, hedge against inflation, and for its nature as a safe haven asset. When investor demand for silver increases, its price will naturally go up and vice versa. Investor sentiment can be influenced by various other factors, including economic conditions, geopolitical tensions, and more.
Gold prices
Gold and silver prices have an interesting relationship that’s documented in the gold/silver ratio. Those who are interested can study historical price charts to see that silver prices tend to increase when gold prices decrease, and vice versa. You could say then that silver’s price is influenced by gold’s price. When gold moves up, silver will move down, and when gold goes down, silver will drive up.
Global conditions
Silver is a safe haven asset and people will often turn to this investment during periods of political instability, conflicts, and other global uncertainties. This can drive up the price of silver depending on current global conditions.
Global conditions can affect silver’s price in different ways. For example, a natural disaster in a silver mining country could temporarily halt operations, reducing supply and driving silver’s price up. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic led to more people working from home, increasing reliance on technology and the industrial applications of silver. With more demand, silver’s price increased during this period.
Is now a good time to buy silver?
Investing in silver can help you diversify your portfolio and reduce overall risk. Depending on your investment strategy, it might be worth investing in silver today. Like gold, silver’s value tends to increase when other assets, like stocks or bonds, decrease in value. This makes it a great hedge during times when other assets aren’t performing well.
Many silver traders like to study charts to find the best times to buy and sell silver. This can allow you to make huge gains but also poses the risk of losses. Returning to this chart to study silver’s price movements, and comparing it with current political, economic, and industrial factors, can help you decide whether now is a good time to buy or sell silver.
If you want to buy silver now, use Metals Radar’s comparison tool to search for the lowest prices on silver bullion bars and coins. We only search trusted precious metals dealers so you can buy with confidence and secure the best silver prices today.
Will silver prices rise or fall in the future?
The silver market is volatile and prices can fluctuate constantly. This makes it difficult to predict future silver prices. That said, by carefully studying silver price history and the various factors that influence its value, you can create your own projections or forecasts.
Use Metals Radar’s silver price chart to view silver’s price movements over the last ten or 20 years and understand how it responds to various political or economic situations. You can then make your own predictions based on the current state of affairs.
What is the highest price of silver historically?
Silver reached record highs during January 1980, when it was valued at $49.45 per oz. It immediately dropped and didn’t rise to those levels again until April 2011, when it climbed back up to $48.70 USD.
Buy silver bullion
The best way to buy silver is to invest in high-quality silver bullion bars or coins. If you’re not sure which investment strategy is right for you, we compare them below:
Silver bars
These are blocks of at least 999.0 fine silver and mostly minted by private refineries. We recommend investing in silver bars if you want to purchase large amounts of silver and hold it for the long-term. This is because prices of silver bars are closer to silver’s spot price, helping you maximize your investment.
Silver bars are also available in larger sizes, from 1 oz up to 100 oz, making them ideal for bulk silver purchases. That said, it makes them less liquid as you cannot sell off small portions at a time. This is why it’s recommended to invest in silver bars if you plan to hold the precious metal for the long-term.
Most silver bars are minted in minimal designs. The best silver bars are produced by Argor-Heraeus, PAMP Suisse, and Valcambi.
Silver coins
These are coins made from 999 fine silver or higher, minted by mostly government but also private mints. Silver coins are better for smaller purchases or for investors interested in collectibility and historical significance. They carry a higher premium above the spot price compared to silver bars but can also increase in value beyond their intrinsic silver content.
Silver coins are available in small denominations, from 1/10 oz up to 2 oz, making them highly liquid and easy to sell off small amounts when needed. The most popular silver bullion coins include the Silver American Eagle (USA), Silver Maple Leaf (Canada), Silver Vienna Philharmonic (Austria), Silver Kangaroo (Australia), and Silver Britannia (UK).
Find the best silver prices online
Make the most of your silver investment with Metals Radar’s comparison engine. We help you search through the most trusted precious metals dealers to find the lowest prices on silver bars and coins on the market. Use our comparison tool and get the most silver for your dollar today.