The silver price: The origin and development of precious metal pricing
A summary of silver pricing
Current silver price (precious metal value)
Disclaimer: This overview of current precious metal prices and exchange rates is intended solely to provide information about silver prices. As a specialist storage provider, OrSuisse does not trade in precious metals.
Thus, we do not make purchase offers, nor provide binding price information as regards the sale or purchase of silver and other precious metals.
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Silver price per kilogram |
963.25 CHF / kg Silver |
1029.79 EUR / kg Silver |
1113.58 USD / kg Silver |
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Silver price per troy ounce |
29.96 CHF / oz Silver |
32.03 EUR / oz Silver |
34.64 USD / oz Silver |
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Silver bars 1000 g |
963.25 CHF |
1029.79 EUR |
1113.58 USD |
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Silver bars 5 kg
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4816.27 CHF |
5148.94 EUR |
5567.91 USD |
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Silver bars 15 kg
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14448.81 CHF |
15446.83 EUR |
16703.73 USD |
One troy ounce (oz) corresponds to 31.1034768 grams – usually rounded off to 31.1g.
A standard silver bar weighs 1000 troy ounces, or approximately 31.1 kg. Please note that manufactured standard bars are subject to weight tolerances, so significant weight deviation can sometimes occur.
Exchange rates
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0.9354 EUR / CHF |
1.0814 EUR / USD |
0.8650 USD / CHF |
Please note prices are constantly adjusted, so the actual sale or purchase price may vary. Sales pricing typically includes a processing fee. We only display current metal values.
We specialise in the storage of precious metals and other valuables but do not trade in these commodities. If you are interested in buying silver or other precious metals, we would recommend:
Buy VAT-free silver from our authorized dealers!
Echtgeld AG in Switzerland:
Victoreanum eG. in Germany:
How the value of silver is determined, and why this is significant
Silver, a high-quality precious metal appearing in the periodic table of elements, is a valued industrial raw material which is also used in jewellery-making and for asset protection. Like gold and other precious metals, its value is continuously determined via international commodity exchanges – expressed as the price for one troy ounce of silver (around 31.1 grams). This value influences the pricing of silver coins and bars, and facilitates the global trading of investment products made from this noble, shimmering white metal.
Disclaimer:This article is intended solely to provide information about the topic of silver prices. As a pure storage company, OrSuisse does not trade in precious metals, nor does it make any offers or publish binding price information relating to the sale or purchase of silver and other precious metals.
The most important trading platforms for silver include the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) with its COMEX subdivision, the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) and the London Bullion Market (LBM). The LBM specialises in over-the-counter (OTC) trading, while the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), which has helped to regulate silver prices across Europe since 1897, coordinates this important market for precious metals.
The silver market is dominated by major international players, with trading in silver derivatives a notable feature. This particular market activity includes futures, ETCs, or options on raw silver material. However, in many instances such trading is not backed by physical silver, which makes trading in futures transactions both quicker and easier. In addition, the contract market itself is significantly larger than the volume of physical silver trading, which can in turn have a significant impact on silver’s world market pricing.
Outside of the stock exchange floor, the London Bullion Market is one of the most important trading venues in the world. The daily fixing of the price for an ounce of silver is negotiated here by auction and quoted in US dollars. The key to determining the price is the creation of an equilibrium price based on the supply and demand of physical silver at the LBMA at the time of the daily fixing. Physical silver is actually traded at the fixed equilibrium price. So this is therefore not a “paper price” arrived at through the trading of derivatives such as futures contracts.
Conventionally speaking, the “international silver price” is derived via the two main trading platforms: the London Bullion Market and the COMEX futures exchange. This is where the world’s largest trading volumes are concentrated, and thus represents the most important factor influencing the current silver price at any given point in time.
Silver price basics
The mechanism for the international pricing of silver means that classic bullion products such as bars and coins can be compared with each other around the globe. Popular silver investment coins such as the Australian Kangaroo, Maple Leaf or Vienna Philharmonic can thus be traded anywhere in the world. The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) initially quotes the fixed silver price in USD. The price for one troy ounce is then converted into other national currencies at the current daily exchange rates. This information then facilitates silver pricing in Swiss francs, EUR etc.
When assessing the value of silver, currency fluctuations within individual countries can result in different prices. So, the standard approach is to always use the silver price valid in each respective country. For example, the end customer price in Switzerland for a 500-gram silver bar is always based on the silver price in CHF. In addition to this core element, there will be further premiums for production and transport as well as statutory VAT, which is 8.1% in Switzerland. Read more about this in our ancillary topic “Silver storage”.
In addition to the spot price of silver, the futures price (or futures contract) is also important when trading raw materials or precious metal assets. While the spot price always refers to the current market price for one physical ounce of silver, any futures price represents the agreed value at which one ounce of silver could be traded when bought or sold at a later date. Futures prices are always based on future offers and thus take market expectations into account. These are standardised contracts expressing an obligation to buy or sell an asset at a defined price on a particular date in the future. Such contracts are traded on the futures exchanges (via the so-called futures market). These prices are primarily based on the relationship between supply and demand. Depending on expectations and subsequent market developments, spot and futures prices can appreciably differ when directly compared. The advantage of futures prices is that they offer fixed values on the specified delivery date, which both parties can use to calculate the projected outcome at the end of the contract term of each respective futures contract – thus avoiding the inherent volatility of relying upon a fluctuating spot price for silver.
From an investor’s perspective, it is also important to know that, unlike gold products, the purchase of silver bars or silver coins is also subject to VAT. However, there are strategies which can be deployed to suspend these taxes. Read more on this in the section about “Silver storage”.
The historical development of the silver price
Most historical charts for today’s silver spot price begin in 1970. This “modern era” also marks the beginning of some major changes to the silver price. In the early 1970s, the market price was USD 1.82. A good decade later, there was a spectacular rise to a closing price of USD 48.70 which literally came out of the blue. This peak was due to silver speculation by the British Hunt brothers, an event which soon turned out to be a speculative bubble. Even though a rapid correction occurred, their purchase of a total of 4,700 tons of physical silver and 6,200 more tons via the futures market led to this all-time high price of silver in US dollars that still stands to this day.
Over the next three decades, the silver price settled into a range of between 3.55 – 4.07 USD. The next significant increase was not until April 2011, when a new all-time high was only narrowly avoided. This time, the trigger was the Greek crisis. The silver price chart again recorded further notable fluctuations with the outbreak of the corona pandemic in 2020, and once more with the start of the Ukraine war in 2022. Spring 2024 also marked a significant increase to USD 32 (CHF 29).
The influence of the economy on the price of silver
Silver continues to be important for the global economy. It is an important material required for many industries, including automobile production, photovoltaics and electronics, medicine and jewellery. In addition, this precious metal has been used for asset protection purposes for thousands of years. Last but not least, central banks have also discovered that silver can act as a suitable alternative to their gold reserves and thus may be hoarding silver bars to protect their capital. In fact, experts are certain that silver will continue to influence global trade for many years to come. As a result, the performance of the economy will continue to have a significant influence on the development of the silver price in the coming decades.
In addition, the value of silver depends largely on the respective currency and exchange rates. The US dollar is generally considered the world’s reserve currency, and thus its value is closely linked to the price of silver. So, if the dollar rises, the price of silver tends to fall. Conversely, investors will tend to buy silver when the dollar rate is low because they see the precious metal as a good way to protect their assets by providing a hedge against inflation in economically difficult times. This also means that a high, investor-led demand for silver, and thus a consequent increase in the price of silver, can also lead to a dollar devaluation.
Silver as an investment option
In times of economic uncertainty, wealthy people generally tend to invest in “safe havens”. This reference tends to mean tangible assets and other asset classes that can be relied upon to mitigate against, and best counterbalance the effects of economic turbulence. Ideally, such asset choices will either retain or even increase their initial value. Precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium are generally considered suitable as safe havens, primarily because of their limited supply. Silver, for example, demands a complex extraction or recycling process, while fiat currencies can always be reproduced at any given time. This scarcity of primary sources makes silver a valuable commodity. Furthermore, the high industrial demand also has a significant impact on the value of silver as an investment option. In addition to this, silver is often purchased as a hedge against inflation, because when the value of money falls, the price of silver rises to the same degree.
But silver does not only serve investors as a means of building wealth or safeguarding assets from the impact of inflation. Like all precious metals, it is also suitable for asset diversification alongside other investment elements within a broad portfolio. Its value stability and generally enduring high demand ensure that silver can offset any losses suffered by other more risky assets such as certain stocks or bonds. Many investment experts therefore advise their clients to convert around 2 to 10 percent of their investable capital into precious metals to help spread and minimise exposure to risk.
Primary demand: For many years, by far the greatest demand for silver has come from industry. Almost 50 percent of the global demand is generated by manufacturing industries, especially the automotive and electronics sectors. In 2023, the Silver Institute reported a new record year with a traded volume of 654.4 million ounces. Additional stocks were required by the jewellery industry (19%), while institutional and private investors accounted for 27%. Global silver demand is expected to reach 1.2 billion ounces in 2024.
Some useful information and tips on silver storage
Anyone who has invested in silver bars or silver coins must adequately protect their assets from both theft and age-related deterioration. While tarnished silver does not actually lose value, it should still be stored professionally. This white metal is therefore best stored in its original packaging – coins, for instance, are usually sealed in foil, or in coin capsules, immediately after their manufacture. This precaution protects the sensitive surfaces from the effects of oxidation caused by contact with air and human skin. Sealed coin tubes filled with 20 or 25 identical silver coins surrounded by an appropriate protective gas will achieve the same effect. If your coins are to be exclusively kept for investment purposes, they should generally remain in the hermetically sealed tube. The same applies to monster boxes, which contain around 20 of such tubes. Larger silver bars are not usually packaged.
Unlike gold products, silver investment holdings can quickly grow in size and soon exceed the capacity of a home safe or an external safe deposit box. Here, individual storage in a Swiss bonded warehouse with no minimum storage fee is a good option to store your silver securely. Storage in a transit warehouse controlled by Swiss customs has the crucial advantage that such silver can then be purchased without VAT, because goods stored in such a location are not considered to have been imported, nor to have been exported from the country. As such, they can be stored for an indefinite period of time and VAT is only charged if and when the silver is eventually delivered to an external location.
Clients of the private storage provider OrSuisse also enjoy the further advantage of negotiable warehouse receipts. OrSuisse’s tradeable warehouse receipts can effectively be used like securities – so they can be easily transferred, or used to secure loans. At the same time, they guarantee that the registered bars or coins will be delivered to the holder of the warehouse receipt at any time. As a special feature, deposited silver can also be sold without any physical movement of goods. This means that not only can your investable capital be fully exploited without the deduction of VAT, your physical silver also retains maximum fungibility and liquidity.
A summary of silver pricing
- The value of one troy ounce of silver is determined daily on international trading platforms.
- The current spot price is usually quoted in US dollars and converted into the respective national currency at the prevailing exchange rates. This results in the silver price in CHF, or a silver price quoted in EUR etc.
- The over-the-counter London Bullion Market is one of the most important trading platforms for precious metals. The LBMA has been regulating (fixing) the trading price of silver since 1897.
- While the silver price is based on supply and demand, other elements such as the dollar price, geopolitical events, interest rates and inflation figures also play a decisive role.
- In contrast to the spot price, any futures price refers to a future valuation of traded silver. Such contracts are traded on futures exchanges and are binding for both buyers and sellers.
- Analysts assume the global economy will continue to influence the price of silver in the coming decades. Silver pricing is particularly influenced by the US dollar exchange rate.
- Silver is considered a safe haven for assets in economically difficult times. Precious metals also serve to diversify more risky asset options within a portfolio.
- Safe and secure storage can be arranged in a Swiss duty-free warehouse. This option also makes it possible to purchase silver ex-VAT.
- At OrSuisse, silver stocks are stored in individual custody. Clients receive negotiable warehouse receipts for their goods, and these can then be used just like securities.
