How far back does the Shanghai premium history go?

MetalCharts tracks the Shanghai silver and gold premium daily from January 2024 onwards. SGE itself publishes pricing back to 2002, but accurate USD-converted premium series require an aligned spot Western benchmark series and an aligned USD/CNY series, which we standardize from January 2024 forward to keep the data internally consistent.

What's the all-time high Shanghai silver premium?

The widest daily close in our series, which starts in January 2024, is +34.3% on February 2, 2026, when Shanghai silver closed at $104.79 an ounce against $78.01 in Western spot. Averaged over each calendar year, the premium was 10.2% ($2.86 an ounce) in 2024, 5.0% ($1.92) in 2025 and 12.2% ($8.88) in 2026 through September 28.

Why does the Shanghai premium fluctuate so much?

Three structural drivers: (1) Chinese physical demand cycles (jewelers, refiners, solar panel manufacturers buy in bursts); (2) silver export restrictions and import duties that limit arbitrage between SGE and Western markets; (3) USD/CNY currency flow distortions during periods of capital controls. Day-to-day, the premium also moves with USD/CNY shifts even when SGE is closed, since one leg is in CNY and the other in USD.

Is a high Shanghai premium bullish for silver?

It's historically been a leading indicator of physical tightness, which often (but not always) precedes Western price strength. Sustained premium above $2/oz combined with falling SGE inventory has preceded several major silver rallies. However, premium can spike on temporary disruptions (logistics, regulation) without a meaningful Western price impact. Use it alongside SGE inventory withdrawals and CFTC positioning.

How do Chinese holidays affect the historical premium?

During SGE closures (Lunar New Year, Golden Week) the Shanghai price stays at its last close while Western markets keep trading, so a live premium quoted on those days says little about physical demand. Every average on this page leaves those days out, along with weekends.

Shanghai Premium History

The Shanghai silver and gold premium, the spread between SGE benchmark prices (in USD-equivalent) and Western spot, is one of the cleanest physical-tightness signals in the global precious-metals market. This page covers our daily series from January 2024 to today, with each year's average silver premium and its widest and narrowest closes.

Written by

MetalCharts Editorial

Published May 12, 2026· Updated September 27, 2026

Why the historical view matters

The headline Shanghai premium on any given day is noisy: USD/CNY shifts, single-day SGE disruptions, and Western market holidays all push the displayed number around. The signal is in the trend: how the premium behaves over weeks and months, where the annual average sits, and which years saw sustained outlier premiums.

Sustained high premium periods have historically lined up with strong Chinese physical demand and have been associated with subsequent strength in Western prices. Sustained low premium periods often reflect ample physical supply and weaker demand cycles.

Key caveat: the apparent premium can move significantly with USD/CNY without any change in underlying physical tightness. To isolate the physical signal, watch the premium and SGE inventory withdrawals together (we surface withdrawals on the SGE inventory page).

Year-by-year context

2024: The silver premium averaged 10.2% ($2.86 an ounce) across 243 daily closes. Its widest close was +20.6% on June 7 and its narrowest +4.6% on May 17.
2025: The silver premium averaged 5.0% ($1.92 an ounce) across 233 daily closes. Its widest close was +10.4% on December 29 and its narrowest -3.9% on October 10. A negative figure means Shanghai silver closed below Western spot that day.
2026 through September 28: The silver premium averaged 12.2% ($8.88 an ounce) across 156 daily closes. Its widest close was +34.3% on February 2 and its narrowest +6.0% on February 12.

Computed from our daily premium series. The same figures are in the free annual Shanghai premium CSV on the data downloads page.

How to read the premium figures

The live chart is on the Shanghai silver premium page. It plots Shanghai silver against Western spot, with the premium between them.

The silver figures include China's 13% VAT: the SGE silver price includes it and Western spot doesn't, so a reading near +13% is roughly parity. For the ex-VAT spread, use (1 + premium) ÷ 1.13 − 1.

SGE doesn't trade on weekends or Chinese public holidays (Lunar New Year, Golden Week, Mid-Autumn Festival). On those days the Shanghai price is just the last close, so every average on this page leaves them out.

Each year's average is the simple mean of its daily closes, the same calculation as the free annual CSV, so the years can be compared directly.

Frequently asked questions

How far back does the Shanghai premium history go?: MetalCharts tracks the Shanghai silver and gold premium daily from January 2024 onwards. SGE itself publishes pricing back to 2002, but accurate USD-converted premium series require an aligned spot Western benchmark series and an aligned USD/CNY series, which we standardize from January 2024 forward to keep the data internally consistent.
What's the all-time high Shanghai silver premium?: The widest daily close in our series, which starts in January 2024, is +34.3% on February 2, 2026, when Shanghai silver closed at $104.79 an ounce against $78.01 in Western spot. Averaged over each calendar year, the premium was 10.2% ($2.86 an ounce) in 2024, 5.0% ($1.92) in 2025 and 12.2% ($8.88) in 2026 through September 28.
Why does the Shanghai premium fluctuate so much?: Three structural drivers: (1) Chinese physical demand cycles (jewelers, refiners, solar panel manufacturers buy in bursts); (2) silver export restrictions and import duties that limit arbitrage between SGE and Western markets; (3) USD/CNY currency flow distortions during periods of capital controls. Day-to-day, the premium also moves with USD/CNY shifts even when SGE is closed, since one leg is in CNY and the other in USD.
Is a high Shanghai premium bullish for silver?: It's historically been a leading indicator of physical tightness, which often (but not always) precedes Western price strength. Sustained premium above $2/oz combined with falling SGE inventory has preceded several major silver rallies. However, premium can spike on temporary disruptions (logistics, regulation) without a meaningful Western price impact. Use it alongside SGE inventory withdrawals and CFTC positioning.
How do Chinese holidays affect the historical premium?: During SGE closures (Lunar New Year, Golden Week) the Shanghai price stays at its last close while Western markets keep trading, so a live premium quoted on those days says little about physical demand. Every average on this page leaves those days out, along with weekends.