Silver prices today, Monday, August 31, 2026: Silver opens lower as rate-hike expectations rise

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Silver ( SI=F ) December futures opened at $66.80 per ounce on Monday, August 31, 2026 , down 1.4% from Friday's closing price. Silver rose this morning, reaching $67.84 as of 8:39 a.m. ET.

Silver prices have been steadily declining since the start of last week and sank even lower at the open this morning as expectations for a Fed rate increase rise.

On Friday, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh reiterated the Fed's mandate for lowering prices, saying the Fed had "work to do" :

"We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do," Warsh said in his first speech as chairman in Jackson Hole, Wyo. "It is the Fed's job to deliver stable prices."

Adding to the rising expectations of higher rates was the first U.S. military attack against Iran in over a month. The U.S. military destroyed rocket launchers that were preparing to fire mines into the Strait of Hormuz.

The opening price of silver futures on Monday, August 31, 2026 , was 1.4% lower compared to Friday's closing price. Here's how today's opening silver price has changed versus last week, month, and year:

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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