Silver Spot Price
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How Much Your Silver is Worth

Silver Calculator
If the silver spot price is not listed in your currency, APMEX has a solution with its silver calculator. This tool allows you to calculate the price of silver based on your currency, the quantity and unit of measure you're interested in, and the silver's purity. Our silver coin calculator simplifies the valuation process for those needing to appraise their silver collection for insurance. This resource is invaluable for those looking to sell or invest in their silver holdings. Moreover, you can find the value of any sterling silver items you have. Our silver scrap calculator can assist in decluttering your space while earning you some extra money.
Silver Spot Price FAQ
Why Do Investors Buy Physical Silver
Silver is a valuable asset due to its limited availability and extensive applications in various sectors, including healthcare, automotive, and energy. This ensures its consistent demand. Moreover, owning physical silver eliminates counterparty risk, the risk associated with the failure of another party to fulfill their contractual obligations. When banks or firms like FTX collapse, it leads to significant losses for investors and depositors. In such cases, physical silver serves as a reliable safeguard, offering a versatile option that supports diverse investment approaches.
Silver Price History
During the 1990s, the price for one troy ounce (0.031 kilograms) of silver hovered around $5.00 ($160.74 per kilogram). The 2000s saw a rise in silver prices, marked by significant fluctuations. The record low was $3.55 ($114.12 per kilogram) in 1991, while the peak reached $48.70 ($1,565.58 per kilogram) in 2011. A notable surge occurred in 1980, hitting $49.45 per troy ounce ($1,589.69 per kilogram) due to the Hunt Brothers' attempt to monopolize the silver market, leading to a financial tumult. This event brought about stricter regulations to prevent market monopolies. The 1980 price spike is often cited by silver advocates as an indicator of its potential value in times of scarcity, equating $49.45 per troy ounce ($1,589.69 per kilogram) to $184.64 ($5,935.71 per kilogram) in 2023's money, suggesting a potential maximum value for silver.
Using All-Time Highs for Timing
Investors keen on market timing may look to historical peaks to decide their buying or selling strategies. The 1980 peak of $49.45 per troy ounce ($1,589.69 per kilogram), driven by exceptional circumstances, and the 2011 peak of $48.70 per troy ounce ($1,565.58 per kilogram) are pivotal references. These benchmarks are adjusted for inflation to guide investment decisions, with the 1980 peak equivalent to $184.64 per troy ounce ($5,935.71 per kilogram) and the 2011 peak to $66.61 per troy ounce ($2,141.34 per kilogram) in 2023, offering insights into silver's potential in various market conditions.
Could Silver Reach $100, $300 or $1,000 Per Ounce?
Our Knowledge Center's article, "Could the Price of Silver Ever Reach $1000 Per Ounce," takes a detailed look into the speculation surrounding silver's price potential. Such predictions have not been realized despite frequent online speculation about dramatic price increases. Investing in silver has its merits, including its tangible nature, historical appreciation of nearly 600% since the 1990s, and inherent scarcity and utility, ensuring its value remains above zero. We advise conducting thorough research and investing judiciously in silver.
Factors that Influence Silver Prices
Silver prices are affected by macroeconomic indicators, prevailing market sentiments, and demand within specific industries. Economic factors such as inflation, interest rates, and economic growth significantly impact silver's valuation. Sentiment around geopolitical events and the appeal of silver as a safe investment can quickly alter its price. The demand from industries, especially in electronics and renewable energy, plays a crucial role, alongside the production output from mines, stability in key silver-producing areas, and the US dollar's performance, as silver prices are quoted in dollars.
For instance, in the week of November 28th, 2023, the Federal Reserve's Christopher Waller hinted at possible rate reductions in 2024, which led to a decrease in the two-year treasury yield by 8.9 basis points and a surge in both gold and silver prices, with silver jumping 4.21%. This episode underscores how market sentiment can directly influence silver's market value.
How is the Silver Spot Price Determined?
The current price for immediate delivery is the silver spot price, which is mainly determined on the COMEX through a dynamic auction of futures contracts. This price reflects the real-time balance of supply and demand, influenced by various factors, including geopolitical events and investor sentiment. While the COMEX is critical for this determination, global pricing is also shaped by other markets and exchanges like the LBMA, TOCOM, and SHFE, ensuring a comprehensive global pricing mechanism for silver.
How Silver Futures Influence Silver Spot Prices
Silver futures, agreements for future delivery, play a vital role in shaping the spot market price by reflecting the market's future expectations. The gap between spot and futures prices is shaped by market predictions, cost considerations, and the overall balance of supply and demand, making it a key aspect for market participants to consider.
Why are there Differences Between Silver Spot and Silver Future Prices?
The phenomena of contango and backwardation, where future prices are higher or lower than spot prices, respectively, highlight market anticipations regarding silver's supply and demand. Contango suggests an expectation of increasing demand or decreasing supply, factoring in costs like storage, while backwardation indicates the opposite. These market states are critical for investors and traders to understand, as they influence silver trading strategies and market outlook.
How to Trade the Gold to Silver Ratio
The gold to silver ratio, indicating the amount of silver needed to buy an ounce of gold, is a critical metric for assessing the comparative value of these metals. A high ratio may indicate silver's undervaluation against gold, suggesting an opportune time to invest in silver. Conversely, a low ratio favors gold investments. Savvy investors use this ratio to toggle between silver and gold investments. For example, in January 2019, an investor could have exchanged 5 ounces (0.16 kilograms) of gold for 560 ounces (17.42 kilograms) of silver by 2020, when the ratio peaked at 112. Later, when the ratio decreased to 70, trading back to gold could yield 8 ounces of gold (0.25 kilograms). If the initial purchase price was $1300/ounce ($41,791.73 per kilogram) and the subsequent price was $1900/ounce ($61,080.22 per kilogram), trading the ratio potentially net over a 133% profit, excluding taxes and other costs. Investors typically liquidate to a currency like the USD for these trades, preferring silver forms that are both low in premium and highly liquid, such as bars or official mint coins.
Why is Silver Used as a Store of Wealth
Silver has long been a bastion of stability in turbulent economic times, particularly during hyperinflation, when it becomes a go-to asset for safeguarding wealth. This was evident in Zimbabwe's late-2000s hyperinflation and Venezuela's mid-2010s economic crisis, where silver and gold emerged as a reliable value store. Historical instances of hyperinflation in countries like Germany, Greece, and Yugoslavia further highlight silver's enduring appeal as a hedge against currency devaluation.
The Green Revolution and Silver’s Industrial Uses
Given the constrained supply and escalating demand for silver, there's a widespread consensus that demand will surpass supply, inevitably driving prices upward. The focal points of this scenario are the silver demands from electric vehicles (EVs) and photovoltaics (solar panels). The substantial funding for a green revolution, mainly through initiatives like the Build Back Better bill, underscores the heavy reliance on silver, attracting keen interest from traders. Silver's annual supply has seen minimal increments, with a mere 4.9% rise in 2021, a virtually flat increase of 0.02% in 2022, and a forecasted 2% uptick in 2023. This limited supply is attributed to regulatory obstacles and the prolonged lead time for new mining ventures to become operational. Despite the surge in demand from 2020 to 2023, the supply hasn't kept pace.
The solar industry, a major consumer of silver, has exhibited significant growth in silver consumption, with a 10% increase in 2021 and a notable 28% rise in 2022. Projections indicate a further 15% surge in consumption for 2023, with forecasted demand reaching 161 million ounces (5,007,659.76 kilograms). Remarkably, between 2020 and 2023, the solar sector alone absorbed 91% of the supply increment. With ongoing investments poised to drive further expansion in this sector, silver consumption is anticipated to outstrip available supply.
Silver Supply & Solar Use (millions of oz)Year | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 FC |
---|---|---|---|---|
Silver Supply | 957.9 | 1004.5 | 1004.7 | 1024.9 |
Supply Increase YoY | -- | 4.9% | 0.0% | 2.0% |
Solar Demand | 100 | 110 | 140.3 | 161.1 |
Solar YoY Increase | -- | 10% | 28% | 15% |
Electric vehicles (EVs) significantly outstrip internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in silver consumption. Although the silver content varies among EV brands and models, a rough estimate suggests that EVs utilize approximately twice as much silver as ICE vehicles. For every EV replacing an ICE vehicle, an additional 0.5 troy ounces (0.016 kilograms) of silver consumption is anticipated. Notably, this estimation excludes the silver required to fully electrify the grid for widespread electric car charging infrastructure across the US. Projections regarding electric vehicle production are subject to constant change, with recent slowdowns attributed to rising interest rates in 2023 and manufacturers revising their forecasts. Despite these challenges, the share of EVs in new vehicle sales surged to 14% in 2022, a significant leap from 4% in 2020. If the current pace of EV adoption continues, full electrification could entail an additional consumption of 100 million ounces (3,110,347.68 kilograms) of silver by 2030.
Silver stackers are closely tracking the progression of the green revolution, acknowledging its potential to significantly elevate silver prices as the intricate interplay between supply and demand seeks equilibrium.
Why You Should Never Attempt to Buy Silver Below Spot
In any market, it is critical to be cautious against offers seemingly too good to be true. Transactions proposing silver sales below spot price should be met with skepticism, as they often signal counterfeit products. The spot price accurately reflects silver's market value, with premiums essential for maintaining the supply chain's viability. Encounters with offers below this price warrant careful consideration, reflecting the broader principle of market integrity and the risks of opportunistic scams.