Silver Price in 1982

In 1982, the price of silver averaged $7.95 per troy ounce, down 24.4% from the year before. This page covers the 1982 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that silver would be worth in today's dollars.

1982 Average

$7.95

LBMA annual average, USD/oz

Change vs 1981

-24.4%

from $10.52 in 1981

1982 High

$11.21

from daily trading data

1982 Low

$4.88

from daily trading data

Year-End Close

$10.90

last trading day of 1982

What happened to the silver price in 1982

Silver averaged $7.95 per troy ounce in 1982, sliding 24.4% from the $10.52 average of 1981. Daily trading data shows silver moved between a low of $4.88 and a high of $11.21 during the year, ending 1982 at $10.90. The notable development of 1982: Volcker recession.

The 1980s opened with the Hunt brothers squeeze driving silver to roughly $50 per ounce in January 1980, followed by the Silver Thursday collapse that March. The rest of the decade was a long unwind as inflation cooled and speculative interest drained away.

Adjusted for inflation, silver's 1982 average of $7.95 equals about $27 in today's dollars. The conversion uses US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U annual averages, so treat it as a close approximation rather than an exact figure.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the price of silver in 1982?

Silver averaged $7.95 per troy ounce in 1982, based on LBMA annual average data. Daily prices ranged from a low of $4.88 to a high of $11.21, and the year closed at $10.90. That average was down 24.4% from $10.52 in 1981.

What is a 1982 silver price worth in today's dollars?

Adjusted with the US Consumer Price Index, silver's 1982 average of $7.95 works out to roughly $27 in today's dollars, using 2025 as the CPI base year. The conversion uses BLS CPI-U annual averages, so treat it as a close approximation rather than an exact figure.

What moved the silver price in 1982?

The defining story of 1982: Volcker recession. Against that backdrop, the annual average fell 24.4%, from $10.52 in 1981 to $7.95.

Annual averages are LBMA prices per troy ounce in US dollars. Where shown, the yearly high, low, and close come from MetalCharts daily historical data and may differ slightly from figures published elsewhere. Inflation adjustments use BLS CPI-U annual averages.