At 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time on March 17, 2026, silver stood at $80.90 per ounce. That marks a 59 cent enhance from this time yesterday and greater than a $47 rise in contrast with one 12 months in the past.
Prices present as of March 17, 2026. Fortune publishes a every day price of silver publish every weekday that knowledge is on the market.
Check Out Our Daily Rates Reports
- Discover the highest high-yield savings rates, as much as 5% for March 19, 2026.
- Discover the highest CD rates, as much as 4.30% for March 19, 2026.
- Discover the top CD rates from major banks on March 19, 2026.
- Discover the current mortgage rates for March 19, 2026.
- Discover current refi mortgage rates report for March 19, 2026.
- Discover current ARM mortgage rates report for March 19, 2026.
- Discover the current price of gold for March 19, 2026.
- Discover the current price of silver for March 19, 2026.
Historical silver efficiency
Silver isn’t a shortcut to fast wealth. Over prolonged durations, it lags conventional equities considerably. Since 1921, silver’s worth has underperformed the S&P 500 by roughly 96%. In sensible phrases, an equal funding break up between silver and shares again then would imply the silver portion can be value one thing within the realm of 96% lower than your inventory.
However, silver is considered as a comparatively steady asset suited to protect buying energy. Often referred to as a “store of value,” it typically holds up in inflationary environments. It can act as a buoy on your funds when inflation rises.
Compared with gold, silver reveals extra volatility. Gold’s main position is as a worth haven—whereas silver additionally serves many industrial makes use of. Because of this industrial demand, swings can have a extra pronounced impression on silver’s pricing.
What does “spot silver” imply?
Simply put, the “spot silver” price displays the speed at which silver could be purchased or offered immediately. But in apply, you’ll normally pay above spot to cowl markups, transport, insurance coverage, and different bills.
Investors monitor the spot price as a benchmark for real-time demand and market developments. A better spot charge exhibits elevated demand.
What is “price spread” in silver buying and selling?
The “price spread” refers back to the hole between silver’s buy and sale costs. Key phrases embody:
- Ask price. This refers to what you pay to accumulate silver
- Bid price. This refers to what you obtain once you promote silver
As anticipated, the bid price sits beneath the ask price. A slender unfold signifies excessive demand for silver.
How to put money into silver
You have choices in the event you’re seeking to put your cash in silver. Broadly, these could be categorized as bodily possession or silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
ETFs are extra widespread and allow you to buy shares in a fund that holds silver, eradicating the necessity to deal with storage or insurance coverage personally.
Common silver investments embody:
- Silver bullion. This contains bars or rounds offered by weight and purity.
- Silver cash. Think minted forex like American Silver Eagles or Silver Maple Leafs, usually priced with a premium for rarity and authorities assure.
- Silver jewellery. Specifically, crafted items which are value greater than equivalent-purity bullion.
- Silver mining shares. This kind of funding refers to shares in firms that extract silver, providing you with oblique publicity.
On exchanges, silver bullion and cash should meet the “three nines fine” customary (99.9% purity). Anything much less is usually handled as collectible or industrial grade. Read our publish on the best silver IRA companies for extra particulars on one of the best ways to put money into treasured metals.
Is it a great time to put money into silver?
Silver’s price has climbed greater than 150% over the previous 12 months, reaching ranges unseen in additional than a decade.
Whether it’s the fitting time to purchase depends upon your outlook. If inflation considerations weigh on you, treasured metals can act as hedge. Likewise, anticipated surges in industrial demand—from renewable vitality to electronics—may probably gas additional features.
Current treasured metals costs as of 8:45 a.m. ET on March 17, 2026
Gold, platinum, and palladium are nonetheless very talked-about with traders. Platinum and palladium usually mirror silver’s volatility; their smaller markets amplify price swings. Gold, in contrast, tends to be the least risky of the 4.
The takeaway
With ongoing financial uncertainty, treasured metals are value contemplating. Silver’s year-over-year efficiency has outpaced gold’s, and lots of analysts predict the chance of additional upside—probably driving silver to file highs.
Given its affordability relative to gold, silver is an accessible entry level into the world of treasured metallic investing. Whether you select bodily cash and bars, ETFs, or mining shares, you possibly can set your self as much as profit from the following silver rally.
Frequently requested questions
What share of my portfolio ought to I allocate to silver?
Advisors typically advocate allocating no more than 10% to fifteen% to silver, protecting complete precious-metals publicity at or beneath 20%.
Can silver be held in an IRA?
Yes, you employ your IRA to put money into IRA-approved silver merchandise, such as cash and bars. The silver should be 99.9% pure and saved with an IRS-approved custodian. This means constitutional or junk silver, referring to cash minted within the U.S. previous to 1965 and containing a considerable silver content material (usually round 90%), will not be eligible to incorporate in a silver IRA.
That stated, silver that doesn’t meet this purity threshold can nonetheless be a sensible funding in jewellery or cash with numismatic worth—you simply can’t use funds out of your IRA to purchase it.
What’s driving silver costs in 2026?
A mixture of constrained provide and rising industrial demand, plus investor demand, has pushed silver costs greater this 12 months.
