Silver futures for December delivery opened at $66.80 per ounce on Monday, August 31, down 1.4 percent from Friday's closing price, before recovering to $67.84 by mid-morning trading. The pullback followed a sharp rally earlier in the month that had pushed the metal toward its highest levels in years.
Even with the recent pullback, silver remains up 12.8 percent over the past month and 70.6 percent over the past year, according to Yahoo Finance data. The metal's year over year growth rate peaked at 173.3 percent on May 14, underscoring how volatile the rally has been even as prices have since cooled from their earlier highs.
The price swings have renewed investor interest in how to gain exposure to the metal. Physical bullion and government minted coins offer direct ownership with no counterparty risk, though buyers take on storage, security and insurance costs, along with a dealer markup above the spot price. Exchange traded funds offer a more liquid alternative, trading on stock exchanges throughout the day through any standard brokerage account. Some silver ETFs hold the physical metal directly, giving shareholders fractional ownership of bullion, while others invest in silver mining and refining companies rather than the commodity itself. Investors should also note that some silver funds are taxed as collectibles rather than as standard investments, a distinction that can affect the tax rate on gains.
The metal's underlying demand picture includes contributions from electronics, solar power and automotive production, sectors that continue to expand silver's role as an industrial input alongside its traditional function as a store of value.
Source: Yahoo Finance - https://finance.yahoo.com/personal-finance/investing/article/silver-prices-today-monday-august-31-2026-silver-opens-lower-as-rate-hike-expectations-rise-125201881.html