Silver price today: Silver is up 3.06% today
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Published 10:52 a.m. UTC July 3, 2024
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What is the current price of silver per ounce today?
The price of silver opened at $30.48 per ounce, as of 9 a.m. ET. That’s up 3.06% from the previous day and up 27.38% year to date.
The lowest trading price within the last day: $29.32 per ounce. The highest silver spot price in the last 24 hours: $30.59 per ounce.
Silver spot price
| Metal | Today | 24-hour change | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|
Silver price per ounce
| $30.48
| 3.06%
| 27.38%
|
Silver price per gram
| $0.98
| 3.06%
| 27.38%
|
The spot price refers to the price at which silver can be bought or sold “on the spot,” or immediately. The futures price, however, reflects the price for silver delivered later.
Silver’s spot price in U.S. dollars is denoted as XAG/USD on the foreign exchange market. You can track silver’s spot price in other currencies, including XAG/GBP for British pounds and XAG/EUR for euros. Silver trades 24/7, so its price is always shifting.
APMEX
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 is up 27.38% 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 prices
Silver is one of four main precious metals investors can trade via physical bullion, exchange-traded products, or futures contracts. Gold, palladium, and platinum spot prices are also updated 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 77.12.
The gold/silver ratio is significant because it is a tool for comparing the relative values of these two precious metals over time. This ratio helps investors and traders understand how the value of gold and silver fluctuates compared to each other.
The high ratio suggests that gold is more expensive than silver, indicating a market preference for gold as a haven, which can mean economic uncertainty. Conversely, a lower ratio implies that silver is gaining value or that gold is becoming less expensive.
This ratio can also indicate potential buying opportunities. For instance, if the ratio is historically high, some investors might see it as a cue to buy silver, expecting it to revert to a long-term average.
The gold/silver ratio is also used to gauge economic health. Shifts in the ratio reflect changes in market sentiment and economic conditions.
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 was under $10 per ounce in the mid-1970s. It reached nearly $50 in 1980. But silver fell back under $10 by the late 1980s.
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 future prices
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
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.
How to invest 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)
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.
Yes, you can gain silver exposure in your individual retirement account. One way is through silver ETPs. You may also be able to open a self-directed IRA that holds physical silver.
Contact your IRA provider to determine your options.
Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
