No one can predict the silver price reliably, and 2026 has shown why. In a research report of 14 May 2026, HSBC raised its forecast for silver’s 2026 average to $75 an ounce, from $68.25, and for 2027 to $68 (as reported by Tiger Brokers’ news service). Through 20 October, silver had averaged $72.27 in 2026, close to that figure, yet it got there by way of a record $118.45 on 29 January and a low of $55.29 on 17 July. Silver ran to a record $118.45 on 29 January 2026 and was 58% lower on 3 November 2026, and because most of a premium is a fixed amount of dollars, premiums in percent have swung with it.
This page first appeared in March 2023 as a silver price prediction for that year. It now looks back at what that forecast said, what silver actually did, and how to read the forecasts published today. Prices below are the LBMA Silver Price to 28 September 2026 and 5 pm New York closes after that, from the price history behind our live silver chart.
| Year | Average price | Change in the average | Last price of the year | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $21.73 | $23.95 | $26.18 (9 March) | |
| 2023 | $23.35 | +7.5% | $23.79 | $26.03 (14 April) |
| 2024 | $28.27 | +21.1% | $28.91 | $34.51 (23 October) |
| 2025 | $40.03 | +41.6% | $71.99 | $74.84 (30 December) |
| 2026 to 20 October | $72.27 | +80.5% | $57.96 (20 October) | $118.45 (29 January) |
What the 2023 prediction said, and what happened
In March 2023, with silver near $21 an ounce, this page leaned bullish for the year. It pointed to three things: investment demand, a high gold-silver ratio that suggested silver was cheap relative to gold, and silver’s habit of following gold and then outrunning it in bull markets.
The direction was right, the timing was not. Silver averaged $23.35 in 2023, 7.5% more than in 2022, but it finished the year at $23.79, slightly below where it started. The big move came later: the average rose 21% in 2024 and 42% in 2025, silver ended 2025 near $72, and it rose another 65% in the first four weeks of 2026 before falling back by more than half. A forecast for a single calendar year would have caught only the first, smallest part of that move.
Why silver forecasts miss
Silver is a small market pulled by several forces that rarely line up the way a forecast assumes:
- Industrial demand, led by solar panels and electronics, which responds slowly to price.
- Investment flows through exchange-traded funds, coins and bars, which can reverse quickly.
- Where the metal sits. In October 2025 London ran short of silver free to lend, and lease rates spiked; see gold and silver lease rates.
- Policy headlines, such as silver’s addition to the U.S. critical minerals list, which moved prices without changing how silver can be traded; see what governments actually did.
- Gold. Silver usually moves with gold, but further in both directions. The gold-silver ratio, the number of ounces of silver one ounce of gold buys, tracks this. It was 79.3 on 3 November 2026, against an average of 68.8 since 2000 and 60.3 since 1970; it has ranged from 31.5 in April 2011 to 123.5 in March 2020.
How to read a silver price forecast
- Check the date. Bank forecasts are revised often; HSBC’s 2026 figure moved from $68.25 to $75 within the year.
- Check what is forecast. An annual average says nothing about the path. 2026’s average sits near HSBC’s number while the price ranged from $55 to $118.
- Remember the cost of owning metal. A coin or bar costs more than spot when you buy and fetches less when you sell. On 3 November 2026, the typical government coin carries 18.6% over the Ask at our check/wire prices, a generic round 10.1% and a plain 1 oz bar 23.6%: about $59.45, $55.20 and $61.95 per ounce of silver. Our study of silver premiums shows how that gap has moved.
Bullion Trading LLC does not publish price predictions. For today’s price, see the live silver price chart; for what to buy if you decide to own silver, see the best silver coins to buy and the best silver bars.
Sources
- LBMA, precious metal prices (LBMA Silver Price, to 28 September 2026), then 5 pm New York spot closes; annual figures calculated by Bullion Trading LLC.
- HSBC research report of 14 May 2026, reported by Tiger Brokers’ news service: 2026 average $75 (previously $68.25), 2027 $68 (previously $57).
- Bullion Trading LLC price records for retail premiums (check/wire prices since October 2024).