Price Comparison Shanghai vs Western silver spot prices ( $ /oz) Shanghai Silver Futures Price vs Inventory Futures price overlaid with warehouse warrant stock See today's silver price in Chinese yuan The China silver price in yuan per kilogram, charted against the Western price. How high is the Shanghai silver premium today? Right now the SGE benchmark stands at $ 75.30 /oz against $ 66.80 /oz US spot, putting the live premium at + 12.74 % . The latest daily close in our premium series ( September 3, 2026 ) was + 12.9 % , higher than 90.2 percent of all daily closes in the series since January 2024 ( 654 closes). What is the highest the Shanghai premium has been? The widest daily close in our premium series, which begins in January 2024 , is + 34.3 % on February 2, 2026 , with SGE silver at $ 104.79 /oz against $ 78.01 /oz US spot . That record came in the early February 2026 crash session: Western spot closed 22.8 percent below its prior close while the SGE benchmark closed 15.0 percent lower, so the computed spread briefly exploded even as both markets fell. Within the winter blowout, daily closes first pushed above 10 percent in late December 2025 (+10.4% on December 29), then reached +21.9% on January 30, 2026 while Western silver traded above $100/oz, before the record February 2 crash-session print. Peak closes are computed from the MetalCharts daily premium series; see the full premium history . Free weekly and annual aggregates are available on the data downloads page . Need daily or real-time premium data programmatically? See pricing . What is the Shanghai Silver Price? The Shanghai silver price refers to silver traded on the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), China's primary spot market for physical precious metals. Unlike Western markets like COMEX (which trades mostly paper contracts), the SGE requires physical delivery, making it a key indicator of real Chinese silver demand. The SGE operates under the supervision of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and is the world's largest physical precious metals exchange. Why Shanghai Silver Trades at a Premium The Shanghai silver premium exists because of China's unique market structure. Import quotas controlled by the PBOC limit silver supply, while strong domestic demand from jewelry manufacturing and industrial applications (especially solar panels) puts upward pressure on the SGE benchmark. Capital controls on the Yuan (CNY) limit cross-border arbitrage, allowing the SGE-vs-Western-spot spread to persist. China's 13% silver VAT does not enter the headline premium itself, since both the SGE benchmark and Western spot are quoted pre-VAT, but it raises landed and retail costs for physical buyers and acts as a friction layer that lets the spread persist longer in either direction. When Chinese buyers are willing to pay significantly more than global spot prices, it signals intense physical demand that may precede global price movements. Shanghai Silver vs COMEX Silver The key difference between Shanghai (SGE) and COMEX silver is physical vs. paper trading. COMEX, operated by CME Group in New York, primarily trades futures contracts where less than 1% result in physical delivery. The SGE, by contrast, is designed for physical settlement, where traders take actual delivery of silver bars. This means SGE prices reflect genuine supply and demand for physical metal, while COMEX is more influenced by speculative positioning. The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) also trades silver futures but is separate from the SGE spot market. Shanghai Silver Futures Price vs SHFE Inventory The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) publishes weekly warrant stock data showing the amount of silver held in its approved warehouses. Tracking SHFE silver inventory alongside futures prices reveals important supply-demand dynamics: declining inventory with rising prices suggests strong physical drawdowns and tightening supply, while rising inventory with falling prices may indicate weakening demand. SHFE warehouse stocks are a key indicator for understanding physical silver flows within China. How Shanghai Silver Prices Are Updated Our Shanghai silver data updates hourly during SGE trading hours (Beijing time: 9:00-11:30 AM and 1:30-3:30 PM, Monday-Friday). We source official SGE benchmark prices and convert them from Chinese Yuan (CNY) per kilogram to USD per troy ounce for direct comparison with US spot prices. The premium calculation compares the SGE price against current US spot, accounting for real-time currency exchange rates. Historical data is preserved for trend analysis. Taxes, VAT, and Import Costs for Silver in China Unlike investment-grade gold traded on the SGE (which has been VAT-exempt since 2003), silver imports carry a 13% value-added tax. This tax does not enter the headline Shanghai premium, since both the SGE benchmark and Western spot are quoted pre-VAT. Where it does matter is in landed cost: combined with import licensing restrictions controlled by the PBOC, logistics, and insurance, the all-in cost of importing silver into China can exceed the pre-VAT global spot price by roughly 15-20%. For example, if the global silver spot price is $30.00/oz, the approximate landed cost for an importer paying VAT works out to: Reference spot: $30.00/oz 13% VAT on import value: +$3.90/oz

Import license premium: +$0.50 to $1.50/oz Logistics & insurance: +$0.20 to $0.50/oz Total landed cost: ~$34.60 to $35.90/oz This delivered-cost layer is why retail Chinese silver consistently sits well above global spot, even when the headline pre-VAT premium narrows. The headline premium itself is not floored by the tax; it can and does swing widely with demand and supply conditions. Physical vs Paper Silver: Price Formation in East and West The Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) and COMEX represent fundamentally different approaches to silver price discovery. The SGE is a physical delivery market: when traders buy silver contracts, they receive actual metal. This means SGE prices directly reflect the supply and demand for real, deliverable silver. COMEX, by contrast, is primarily a paper market. Fewer than 1% of silver futures contracts result in physical delivery. The rest are settled in cash or rolled over. This allows COMEX prices to be driven by speculative positioning, algorithmic trading, and leveraged bets rather than physical supply and demand. This structural difference creates persistent price divergence. When physical demand surges in Asia but COMEX is driven by paper selling, the Shanghai premium widens, a signal that the physical market may be tighter than futures prices suggest. Shanghai vs Western Silver Markets Comparison Understanding the key differences between Shanghai and Western silver markets helps explain why prices diverge and what the premium signals. Why China Influences the Global Silver Price China is the world's largest silver consumer, and its influence on global prices continues to grow. Several factors make Chinese demand a key driver: Solar panel manufacturing: China produces over 80% of global solar panels. Each panel uses ~20 grams of silver, and solar demand has grown rapidly in recent years. Industrial demand: Silver is used in electronics, 5G infrastructure, electric vehicles, and other high-growth sectors where China leads globally. PBOC policy: The People's Bank of China controls silver import licenses, directly affecting supply availability and premium levels. Currency effects: Yuan (CNY) weakness against the dollar makes dollar-denominated silver more expensive for Chinese buyers, which can dampen demand or widen premiums depending on urgency. When Chinese industrial demand accelerates (as during solar buildout seasons), the Shanghai premium often widens, signaling global physical tightness before Western markets react. Data Sources & Methodology We source Shanghai silver prices from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) official benchmark, which publishes Ag(T+D) contract prices during trading sessions. SHFE silver futures prices and warehouse inventory data are sourced from the Shanghai Futures Exchange's public data feeds. Price conversion: SGE quotes silver in Chinese Yuan per kilogram (CNY/kg). We convert to US Dollars per troy ounce (USD/oz) using real-time USD/CNY exchange rates. The formula is: Price (USD/oz) = (Price (CNY/kg) ÷ Exchange Rate (CNY/USD)) × (31.1035 ÷ 1000) , where 31.1035 is the number of grams in a troy ounce (the precious-metals standard, not the avoirdupois ounce of 28.3495 g). Premium calculation: The Shanghai premium is calculated as the percentage difference between the converted SGE price and the current US spot price: Premium (%) = ((SGE Price in USD − US Spot) ÷ US Spot) × 100 . Update frequency: Prices update hourly during SGE trading hours (Beijing time: 9:00-11:30 AM, 1:30-3:30 PM). SHFE inventory data updates weekly. All historical data is preserved for long-term trend analysis. Frequently Asked Questions 1 oz American Silver Eagle 1 oz Silver Maple Leaf 1 oz Silver Britannia 1 oz Silver Bar