Silver ends October near £37 an ounce after an 18% fall, more than double gold's slide

Silver starts November at around £37 a troy ounce, or roughly £1.20 a gram before dealer costs. That is our approximate conversion of the $49.28 at which December silver futures settled on Friday, according to FinanceFeeds citing CME Group data. The contract lost about 18.3 per cent over October.

Gold also fell, but by less. December gold futures ended the month at $3,898.90, down roughly 6.9 per cent, around £2,950 an ounce on our conversion. Silver's drop was therefore more than twice as large. The gold-silver ratio, the number of silver ounces needed to buy one ounce of gold, rose to about 79 on those prices, from a range of 60 to 70 over the summer, as reported by FinanceFeeds citing Metals Focus.

The main pressure has been expectations of another US interest rate rise in December, which tends to hurt metals that pay no interest. Some analysts also point to forced selling after a share market slump on Friday.

Physical demand is mixed. The Silver Institute expects a sixth annual supply deficit in 2026, yet industrial demand is forecast to dip 3 per cent as solar makers use less silver. Watch Tuesday's US midterm elections and Friday's jobs report.

For UK buyers, most silver bullion carries 20 per cent VAT, so compare the all-in cost: spot plus premium, VAT and delivery. This is market information, not financial advice.