Silver Price Today | Silver Spot Price Charts (2024)

Throughout most of the 1990s, one troy ounce of silver traded around $5.00. In the early 2000s, the price of a troy ounce of silver began to increase. It has undergone periods of volatility with great movements up and down. Since 1990, the lowest price silver has ever reached was $3.55 in 1991, and the highest price ever reached was $48.70 in 2011. Silver went higher once in 1980 when it went to $49.45 per troy ounce in the wake of a near global financial collapse when the Hunt Brothers attempted to corner the silver market and buy all available silver. They did this by financing their speculative ventures to such a degree that missing a margin call set off a cascade of events that affected not only the price of silver, but also gold and other assets and commodities. In the aftermath, several regulations were put in place to prevent a similar event from occurring. A single individual or entity should no longer be able to take over the entire silver market and create a monopoly.

Advocates of silver point to the 1980 spike in prices a sign for what silver prices can reach, especially in a scarcity environment, and point out that $49.45 in 1980 would be the equivalent of $184.64 in 2023 due to inflation. This puts a theoretical upper limit on the spot price of silver.

We cover this topic extensively on the Knowledge Center in our article “Could the Price of Silver Ever Reach $1000 Per Ounce”. Silver is the target of a recurring hype cycle online where pundits, influencers, and some industry leaders begin predicting silver’s price will skyrocket. Although these predictions have circulated for some time, they have yet to manifest.

There are very good reasons to invest in silver. It’s a tangible investment that has stood the test of time. It has no counterparty risk, its value has increased nearly 600% since the 1990s, and its built-in scarcity and utility mean its value will never drop to zero like some investments do. We encourage our customers and readers to do their own research prior to investing in silver, and to invest wisely.

Silver prices are influenced by a combination of macroeconomic factors, market sentiment, and industry-specific dynamics. Global economic conditions play a significant role, with factors like inflation rates, interest rates, and overall economic growth affecting silver prices. Market sentiment, influenced by geopolitical events and investor demand for safe-haven assets, can lead to rapid price fluctuations. Industrial demand for silver, driven by its use in various sectors like electronics and green technologies, also impacts prices. Moreover, mining production levels, geopolitical stability in major silver-producing regions, and fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar, as silver is priced in dollars, contribute to the overall volatility and trend in silver prices.

One example on the week of November 28th, 2023, may help illustrate how silver prices may move in accordance to market conditions. When the Fed’s Christopher Waller made dovish statements regarding the possibility of rate cuts in 2024, the market reacted strongly. The two-year treasury yield dropped 8.9 basis points and prices of gold and silver both surged. Silver spot price increased 4.21% from the start of the week in response to these market conditions.

Silver spot prices are primarily determined through commodity futures exchanges like the COMEX (Commodity Exchange). The spot price represents the current market value for immediate delivery of silver. On the COMEX, a continuous auction process occurs where buyers and sellers submit orders to purchase or sell silver futures contracts. The intersection of the highest bid and the lowest ask prices establishes the current spot price. This price discovery mechanism involves a dynamic interplay of market participants responding to factors such as supply and demand dynamics, geopolitical events, economic indicators, and investor sentiment. The COMEX spot price serves as a benchmark for silver valuations globally, influencing various market participants, including miners, manufacturers, and investors.

While the COMEX (Commodity Exchange) is a major platform for silver futures trading and plays a significant role in price discovery, there are other commodity exchanges and markets that also contribute to determining the silver spot price. The LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) is a crucial player in the global precious metals market, and the London Silver Fix, now replaced by the LBMA Silver Price, provides a benchmark for silver prices. Additionally, various futures and commodities exchanges worldwide, such as the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) and the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), contribute to the broader global pricing of silver. The aggregated influence of these exchanges and the interconnectivity of global financial markets contribute to the comprehensive determination of the silver spot price.

Silver has historically played a role as a form of currency, particularly in times of hyperinflation when fiat currencies lose value rapidly. During hyperinflationary crises, people often turn to tangible assets like silver to preserve their wealth. In recent history, notable examples include the hyperinflation in Zimbabwe in the late 2000s. The Zimbabwean dollar experienced astronomical inflation rates, prompting citizens to seek alternative stores of value, with some turning to silver and gold. Similarly, during the hyperinflationary period in Venezuela that began in the mid-2010s, the Venezuelan bolivar lost its value at an alarming rate, leading individuals to turn to precious metals like silver as a more stable form of wealth preservation. In such extreme economic scenarios, silver's intrinsic value and historical role as a currency provide individuals with a tangible and tradable asset that can serve as a hedge against the eroding value of fiat currencies. In Venezuela, silver is used to barter for food, medicine and fuel and continues to play a role in the economy today. While the Bolivar dropped in value due to hyperinflation, the value of silver and other precious metals remained strong, making it not only a wise investment but an excellent store of wealth.

Some of the worst examples of hyperinflation include Germany post WWI, Greece after WWII, and Yugoslavia in 1994. Precious metals such as silver helped save many people during these periods.

With constrained supply and the ever-growing demand for silver, there is a consensus belief that demand will outstrip supply and prices will rise. At the center of this narrative is the demand for silver in electric vehicles and in photovoltaics – or solar panels. With the massive build back better bill funneling hundreds of billions towards a green revolution that is heavily dependent on silver, many traders are following the money. Silver supply has only increased a very small amount each year. In 2021, the total supply increased by 4.9%, and in 2022, the supply increased by .02%, which was essentially flat. 2023 was forecast to a mere 2% increase. The constrained supply is due to regulatory hurdles and the lead time it takes for new mines to become operational. We have seen massive demand between 2020 and 2023, yet supply has not kept pace.

Photovoltaics or solar uses a lot of silver. Silver consumption for silver has increased by 10% in 2021, and 28% in 2022 and is forecast to consumer an additional 15% in 2023. The forecast demand for 2023 is 161 million ounces, and that number is set to only grow. Between 2020 and 2023, the solar industry has consumed 91% of the supply increase alone. With additional spending set to propel this industry further, silver consumption is expected to outpace supply.

In addition to solar, electric vehicles use considerably more silver than ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles. Although the amount of silver in each EV varies by brand and model, a very rough estimate puts ICE vehicles at about half of a troy ounce and EVs at about one troy ounce. For every EV to replace an ICE vehicle, we expect an additional 0.5 troy ounces to be consumed. This does not include the millions of ounces it will take to completely electrify our grid so electric car chargers are available around the US. Projections are constantly changing, and electric vehicle production has recently hit a slowdown with rising interest rates (2023) and manufacturers pulling back on their manufacturing forecasts. Nonetheless, 14% of the new vehicles sold in 2022 were EVs, marking meaningful progress from the 4% in 2020. Full electrification could easily consume an additional 100 million ounces by 2030 if EV adoption continues apace.

Silver stackers are watching the green revolution unfold as it has the potential to propel silver prices to much higher trading ranges as supply and demand attempts to balance out.