Silver Price in 1989
In 1989, the price of silver averaged $5.50 per troy ounce, down 15.8% from the year before. This page covers the 1989 average, high, low, and year-end close, and what that silver would be worth in today's dollars.
1989 Average
$5.50
LBMA annual average, USD/oz
Change vs 1988
-15.8%
from $6.53 in 1988
1989 High
$6.17
from daily trading data
1989 Low
$5.02
from daily trading data
Year-End Close
$5.18
last trading day of 1989
Silver Price Chart, 1979 to 1999
Silver Price by Month in 1989
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 1989 | $5.97 | $6.17 | $5.82 |
| February 1989 | $5.89 | $5.99 | $5.80 |
| March 1989 | $5.93 | $6.14 | $5.76 |
| April 1989 | $5.79 | $5.87 | $5.62 |
| May 1989 | $5.45 | $5.67 | $5.12 |
| June 1989 | $5.30 | $5.47 | $5.14 |
| July 1989 | $5.24 | $5.41 | $5.16 |
| August 1989 | $5.19 | $5.32 | $5.06 |
| September 1989 | $5.13 | $5.29 | $5.02 |
| October 1989 | $5.14 | $5.25 | $5.05 |
| November 1989 | $5.49 | $5.84 | $5.17 |
| December 1989 | $5.54 | $5.74 | $5.14 |
What happened to the silver price in 1989
Silver averaged $5.50 per troy ounce in 1989, sliding 15.8% from the $6.53 average of 1988. Daily trading data shows silver moved between a low of $5.02 and a high of $6.17 during the year, ending 1989 at $5.18.
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 1989 average of $5.50 equals about $14 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 1989?
What is a 1989 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.