Honestly, if you looked at a silver chart two years ago and saw the numbers we’re hitting today, you’d probably have thought it was a glitch. Yet, here we are. On Sunday, January 18, 2026, the current value of silver per ounce is hovering right around $90.88.
It’s been a wild ride.
Just a few days ago, we saw silver briefly test the $93 mark before pulling back. Some traders are definitely taking their profits and running. Can you blame them? Silver was sitting at roughly $30 at the start of 2025. In just over a year, it has tripled. That kind of vertical movement usually only happens in crypto or penny stocks, not a foundational precious metal.
But this isn't just "hype."
Why the current value of silver per ounce keeps defying gravity
The big question everyone is asking is whether we're in a bubble. UBS recently put out a note comparing this rally to the legendary Hunt Brothers squeeze of the late 1970s. They’re cautious. They think the valuation relative to gold is getting a bit stretched. However, if you look at the "boots on the ground" reality, the story changes.
Silver is basically the "secret sauce" of the green energy transition. You've got solar panels everywhere now. Each of those panels uses silver paste for conductivity. Then you have the EV market. A standard electric vehicle uses roughly 25 to 50 grams of silver—way more than your old internal combustion engine.
The industrial squeeze is real
Industry now gobbles up more than 50% of the silver produced every year.
- Solar Demand: Photovoltaic installations are breaking records globally.
- AI and Data Centers: High-speed computing needs silver's superior conductivity for chips and circuitry.
- EV Infrastructure: It’s not just the cars; it’s the charging stations and the grid upgrades too.
The tricky part? Most silver is mined as a byproduct of other things like copper and zinc. So, even if the price of silver goes to the moon, miners can't just "turn on a tap" to get more. They have to dig more copper first. This creates a massive structural deficit that keeps the floor under the price.
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What experts are saying about $100 silver
We are closer to triple digits than most people ever dreamed. Some analysts, like Peter Wind, suggest that hitting $100 in 2026 is almost a "when" rather than an "if," provided industrial demand stays this hot.
"We are seeing what I call an 'everything rally' in the short term, but silver has the strongest fundamental backbone of the bunch," says one market analyst.
The gold-to-silver ratio is the metric you've really got to watch. Historically, it sits around 60:1. In early 2025, it was up near 100:1, which meant silver was dirt cheap compared to gold. Now, it has compressed to about 57:1. That tells us silver is finally outperforming its big brother.
But don't ignore the risks.
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If the Federal Reserve decides to hike rates again—unlikely as it seems right now—silver could take a hit. High rates make "yield" assets like savings accounts more attractive than metals that just sit in a vault. Plus, there’s the "Trump factor." The administration's recent national security review of critical minerals specifically mentioned silver. While they stopped short of sweeping tariffs, any shift in trade policy with China (a major refiner) could send shockwaves through the spot price.
Practical steps for the current market
If you’re looking at the current value of silver per ounce and wondering if you missed the boat, you need a plan. Don't just FOMO in at the top.
- Check the Premiums: Spot price is $90.88, but you won't pay that at a local coin shop. You’ll pay a "premium" over spot. If physical premiums are over 15%, you might be better off waiting for a dip.
- Monitor the $82 Support: Technically speaking, if silver drops, it needs to hold above the $82–$84 range to keep this bull run alive. If it breaks below $80, things could get ugly fast.
- Watch the Miners: Stocks like Silvercorp Metals (SVM) are trending up because their margins are exploding with silver over $90. Sometimes the mining stocks move before the metal does.
- Silver-to-Gold Swap: If you’re a long-term "stacker," some people are actually trading their silver for gold right now because the ratio has moved so far in silver's favor. It's a way to lock in those gains without "exiting" the precious metals space entirely.
The market is volatile. It’s messy. But for the first time in decades, silver isn't just the "poor man's gold." It's a strategic national security asset that the world simply can't get enough of. Keep an eye on the $93 resistance level this week; a break above that could trigger another massive short squeeze toward $100.
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Next Steps for You: Check the live bid/ask spread on a reputable bullion site like APMEX or JM Bullion before making a purchase, as the "ask" price is what you will actually pay. If you already own physical silver, call two local coin dealers to see what their "buy back" price is—this will give you the most accurate picture of the local liquidity in your area today.