Silver, like gold, has enjoyed a long history of use for adornments and currency. This ductile metal has woven its way into history - evidenced by its chemical symbol Ag from the Latin argentum - and even found a home in popular myths as the white ward against evil creatures. Futures and physical contracts trade on more than one exchange, but these specifications are for the COMEX silver futures contract.
5,000 troy ounces
US cents per troy ounce; minimum tick size is half a cent per ounce or $25.00 per contract.
According to the exchange, "Trading is conducted for delivery during the current calendar month; the next two calendar months; any January, March, May, and September falling within a 23-month period; and any July and December falling within a 60-month period beginning with the current month."
Open outcry trading is conducted from 8:25 AM until 1:25 PM ET.
Electronic trading is conducted via the CME Globex® trading platform from 6:00 PM Sundays through 5:15 PM Fridays, ET, with a 45-minute break each day between 5:15 PM and 6:00 PM.
As of date of initial publishing, there were no daily limits; however, it is wise to consult exchange.
On Earth, silver can be found in a native form or combined with gold or other minerals. It has high electrical conductivity; however, its susceptibility to tarnish was an impediment to widespread use in electrical purposes. White and highly reflective when polished, silver has been used as currency and ornament for centuries. When alloyed with other metals such as copper, this precious metal is known as sterling silver and is harder than pure silver.
Silver was likely mined through ancient times, with evidence of mining in islands of the Aegean suggesting that separation from lead was occurring nearly six thousand years ago. Silver can be extracted from ore via smelting or chemical leeching. Large deposits of silver were discovered in the New World - and today, many of the top producing countries are part of the Americas.
The following chart illustrates production of silver from some of the top silver mining nations:
In the United States, silver mines are located per the following map:
Like other metals, silver can be recovered from scrap, but mining remains the main source of supply for fabricating silver products as illustrated in the following chart:
Gold-Silver Ratio - nan expression of the number of ounces of silver it would take to buy an ounce of gold. Can be used as a basis of certain trading strategies. For example, in the 1980s the ratio was about 1:17 and at its peak in the 1990s, it was around 1:100.
Electroplating -a process which deposits one metal on the surface of another electrically
Fine Silver - pure silver that is at least 999.5 parts per 1000
Silver, like gold, can play host to a variety of fundamental concerns which are closely tied into the global economic situation. Since a large portion of use is dedicated to industrial applications, demand for electronic components and other manufactured goods can be tied into the price of silver. Trade of world currencies as well as investment demand for silver bullion can also be important issues to watch.
On the supply side of fundamentals, the concentration of much of the mining of silver in Peru and Mexico can be of importance if there are any political or social events in either of those countries.
Besides the designation of precious metal and the investing demand which may go with that, silver enjoys application in a variety of industries including dentistry, electronics, soldering, mirrors, nuclear reactors, chemical catalysts, and even medicine. Silver was once widely believed to be a ward against disease and has shown significant broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties. This metal was once used to kill germs prior to the widespread use of antibiotics. It has also recently been applied to clothing to inhibit bacterial growth. Research into this side of silver usage is ongoing.
One of the often highlighted areas of use was photography. With the age of digital cameras, this field of use has tapered while other industrial applications had experienced growth, as illustrated in the following graph:
