Silver Price in 1986
In 1986, the price of silver averaged $5.47 per troy ounce, down 10.9% from the year before. This page covers the 1986 average, high, low, and year-end close, and what that silver would be worth in today's dollars.
1986 Average
$5.47
LBMA annual average, USD/oz
Change vs 1985
-10.9%
from $6.14 in 1985
1986 High
$6.20
from daily trading data
1986 Low
$4.87
from daily trading data
Year-End Close
$5.37
last trading day of 1986
Silver Price Chart, 1976 to 1996
Silver Price by Month in 1986
Each month's average of daily closing prices, with its high and low, per troy ounce. These come from MetalCharts daily spot data, so they can differ slightly from the annual average above, which is based on LBMA annual average data.
| Month | Average | High | Low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1986 | $6.06 | $6.20 | $5.73 |
| February 1986 | $5.88 | $6.03 | $5.61 |
| March 1986 | $5.64 | $5.77 | $5.33 |
| April 1986 | $5.23 | $5.47 | $5.05 |
| May 1986 | $5.12 | $5.25 | $4.87 |
| June 1986 | $5.15 | $5.38 | $5.01 |
| July 1986 | $5.05 | $5.11 | $4.99 |
| August 1986 | $5.22 | $5.51 | $5.11 |
| September 1986 | $5.69 | $6.00 | $5.19 |
| October 1986 | $5.67 | $5.81 | $5.55 |
| November 1986 | $5.58 | $5.81 | $5.24 |
| December 1986 | $5.36 | $5.47 | $5.27 |
What happened to the silver price in 1986
Silver averaged $5.47 per troy ounce in 1986, down 10.9% from $6.14 the year before. Daily trading data shows silver moved between a low of $4.87 and a high of $6.20 during the year, ending 1986 at $5.37.
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 1986 average of $5.47 equals about $16 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 1986?
What is a 1986 silver price worth in today's dollars?
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.