Silver (SI=F) September futures opened at $65.06 per ounce on Monday, August 17, 2026, down 0.1% from Friday’s closing price. The silver price moved up slightly this morning, reaching $65.32 as of 9:05 a.m. ET.
Silver continued trending up at the open, recording a 17.1% gain over the past month. Signs of a softening consumer spending environment may be supporting an investment case for silver. Declines in retail sales and consumer sentiment, both reported last week, lower the immediate risk of rate increases by the Fed.
The silver price is also influenced by industrial and import demand, where the outlook is more complicated. J.P.Morgan Global Research recently reported that India and China, two large silver importers, may have reduced demand going forward. The same report noted that solar-panel makers, which typically use a lot of silver, are adopting new technologies that reduce their dependence on the metal.
Current price of silver
The opening price of silver futures on Monday, August 17, 2026, was 0.1% lower compared to Friday’s closing price. Here’s how today’s opening silver price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
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One week ago: +1.8%
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One month ago: +17.1%
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One year ago: +71.8%
For context, silver’s year-over-year growth was 173.3% on May 14.
24/7 silver price tracking: Don’t forget you can monitor the current price of silver on Yahoo Finance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Want to learn more about the current top-performing companies in the silver industry? Explore a list of the top-performing companies in the silver industry using the Yahoo Finance Screener. You can create your own screeners with over 150 different screening criteria.
How beginners can invest in silver
There are several ways to invest in silver, from buying the metal itself to choosing financial products tied to its price. Here’s how each option works.
Physical silver
The most direct way to invest in silver is to buy it in physical form, either as bullion bars or government-minted coins. This gives you direct ownership of the metal, with no counterparty risk from an exchange or financial institution.
The trade-off is logistics. You’ll need to think about storage, security, and potentially insurance. Dealers also charge a markup above the spot price, which means prices need to rise enough to cover that premium before you’re in profit. Still, for investors who want tangible ownership of their assets, physical silver is a straightforward option.
Silver ETFs
Silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs) trade on stock exchanges the same way individual stocks do. Some ETFs hold physical silver directly, giving shareholders fractional ownership of real metal. Others invest in silver mining companies rather than the commodity itself.
ETFs are generally the most accessible and liquid way to get silver exposure. You can buy and sell them through any standard brokerage account, and there’s no storage or insurance to worry about.
Keep in mind, though, that some silver funds are taxed as collectibles rather than investments, which can mean a higher tax rate. It’s worth confirming the tax treatment with a professional before investing. You’ll also have to keep an eye on expense ratios.
Read more: 5 ways to invest in silver for beginners
Price of silver chart
Whether you’re tracking the price of silver since last month or last year, the price-of-silver chart below shows the precious metal’s value journey so far this year.
More silver coverage from the Yahoo Finance team: