Silver Rate In India

Did you know, silver is the only metal that can be used to treat medical issues. In this article, you will learn some mind-boggling facts about silver and explore silver rates measurement, investment tips, and factors affecting silver prices.

Silver is a precious metal that can be used for many purposes, whether industrial or household, jewellery or medicine. Despite its multipurpose utilities, silver is cheaper than gold in India. This article will outline the reasons for that.

The city of Delhi is considered to be the driver of silver rates in India. The huge population of the national capitals boosts the investment in silver. People of different classes invest in this metal. In Delhi, the rates of silver move in tune with the international market fluctuations for metals.

We can observe a similar trend between both of them. A different trend has been observed in silver prices in 2022. Prices are fluctuating per demand-supply in the national and international market.

Silver Rate in India

Many Indians invest in silver, so it is important to know about the measurement of silver. Silver is measured in a way similar to gold. In India, the weight of silver is measured in terms of grams or troy ounces (1 troy ounce is equal to 31.1035 grams).

The scientific symbol of silver is Ag. Generally, the rates of silver tend to change as per the international market rates based on weights. The purity of silver is also an important factor in pricing. As pure silver is very soft, it is alloyed with copper for different uses.

The marking of the silver provides details about the content of the silver. Below are some common terms that indicate silver purity:

The above table can be understood on the basis of an example. For example, the silver with 99.9% content contains 999/1000 silver, that is, it is fine silver, while the silver with 80% content contains 800/1000 silver and the rest is another metal used in jewellery.

The purity of silver can also be verified by checking the BIS hallmark on it. The BIS mark is a triangular-shaped symbol with a dot. It is the official logo of the Bureau of Indian Standards.

As we have seen previously, silver prices are determined based on various factors, including international market prices. The price in terms of foreign currency is then converted into Indian currency based on the exchange rate and weight and fineness.

Silver Buying Guide

As mentioned earlier, the rate of silver is lower than gold. People from the middle class also invest in silver. Investing in silver implies owning silver in physical form or through the commodity market in digital form. Silver can be bought in various forms in different shapes and sizes.

Silver can be purchased from banks or jewellersin the market. It can be stored safely and conveniently unlike gold. If you want to buy silver in physical form, you must know the forms in which silver is available at banks and jewellers. After that, you can decide in what form you should buy silver and through which mode. 

Some forms of silver are listed here:

• Bullion: Bullion is a term meaning bulk metal, which is used in the production of coins, especially for precious metals like gold or silver. Though coins made of precious metals are not used in the market as currency, people make investments in bullions to mitigate the risk of economic uncertainty in future periods.
  
  Precious metal bullions are very costly, due to which they can not be owned easily. Silver bullions can be bought in both ways, physically or digitally. It is similar to having gold bars or silver bars.
  
  Silver Bullions are made of 99.5% content of silver, which means they are 99.5% fine or pure. Silver bullions without any impurities are known as parted bullions, while silver bullions that have impurities are known as un-parted bullions.

• Coins: Coins are made from bullion in smaller shapes and sizes. Coins made from silver bullions can be called silver coins. Lower-income groups can also make investments in coins. It is easy to buy silver coins and store them at home.
  
  Generally, buying coins becomes a bit expensive because of labour charges, tamper-proof packaging and charges for imprinting letters and images. But the major advantage of buying coins is they can be bought and sold easily in the market through reputed jewellery shops and banks.
  
  Due to this, there is some liquidity in investment from a financial perspective. People also use silver coins for gifting purposes on a few occasions.

• Jewellery: Most people prefer silver jewellery items as they are more affordable than gold. Jewellery is also made from bullion or bars. It is important to note that there is some loss in the value of silver while making jewellery.
  
  Also, the cost of silver jewellery is more than the cost of silver coins. The reason behind this is that the cost of jewellery includes the charges of making jewellery, which is around 10% or more. It also includes the melting charges for converting bars into jewellery.
  
  Still, jewellery is a much-preferred form as people in India tend to buy certain kinds of jewellery on particular festivals and occasions.

As you now know the forms of silver available in the market, it is time to learn what precautions should be taken while buying silver. Some aspects to be considered during silver purchase are described below.

• The fineness of silver: As we have seen earlier, the purity of silver can be checked by the BIS hallmark on it. BIS hallmark is a system of hallmarking to certify the purity of the gold and silver jewellery sold in the Indian market. The Bureau of Indian Standards introduced hallmarking for silver jewellery in December 2005. 

  Look for these fiive signs when purchasing any silver article. 

1. Grade of purity pr fineness

2. The BIS hallmark or logo

3. Identification mark or number of hallmarking centre

4. Identification mark or number of the jeweller

5. Year of hallmark

These are the grades of silver of BIS hallmark:

The hallmarking charges as per BIS is Rs. 25 per article of silver, and the minimum charges per consignment are Rs. 150, on which the service tax and other taxes or levies are applied separately. Hallmarking charges are levied per article, and charges do not depend on the weight of the article.

• Making Charges: While buying silver, you should ask the jeweller about the price of silver and the making charges. Some jewellers mention the making charges on the bill. Generally, there is no limit for making charges, but the cost of making silver is less than gold.

• Authenticated dealers: As per BIS, the shops which sell the pieces of jewellery with BIS hallmark must have a licence and must display “Hallmarked jewellery available for sale” at their outlets along with the BIS logo. The jewellers should also have a magnifying glass of at least 10X magnification to make the hallmark visible to the customers. If you want, you can get the hallmark verified by the A&H centres of BIS.

• Stones on jewellery of silver: Silver jewellery often has gemstones embedded in it. In such cases, you must ask the jeweller about the price of the gems studded in the jewellery. Finding out the weight of the stones and the silver can help verify the price.

• Bill or receipt: When you buy any article of silver, you must get a bill or receipt from the jeweller. A few details should be present on the bill, such as the weight of the article, its purity and fineness, hallmarking charges, taxes and year of hallmarking (if any silver antique is being purchased).

• Policy for buy-back: Sometimes, people purchase new jewellery in exchange for old jewellery. When buying a fresh silver item and selling an old one, check with the jeweller what the future price of the new piece would be. Knowing this in advance will help you make selling decisions in the future. Moreover, you will also find out the grade of the article.

Along with the knowledge of the physical form of silver, let us also learn about the trading of silver in the market. You can invest or trade in silver in the commodity market, just like equities in the share market. You need a Demat account to trade in silver at any of the following exchanges in India:

• National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX)

• Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX)

• National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE)

Generally, trading in silver is done in large quantities. In silver trading, the smallest contract that can be traded is of 1 kg unit, which is delivered in a minimum 30 kg quantity. You can also invest in silver in the futures exchange market. But when it comes to online purchasing, there is some risk involved.

You should know the silver MCX price while buying any silver article or trading in commodity markets because this price is the base value on which different charges are added on the basis of the form of silver and mode of investment.

How to invest in silver?

One should make an investment in silver depending on the amount of investment, the purpose of investment, price of silver, etc. Silver is relatively less risky than gold, due to which the investment in silver on commodity exchange is more.

Silver is a very liquid form of investment, as it can be purchased and sold easily in any market. If investment in silver is made, then there is a benefit of low risk because the rates of silver change at a steady pace.

If you want to purchase the silver in physical form, you can buy it from banks, jewellery shops or online. Mostly, people buy silver in the form of silver coins, silver utensils, silver jewellery, silver ETFs, high-value tableware and other articles.

On the other hand, in the digital form of investment, as you need a Demat account, you have to pay some charges for brokers' services and trading in the commodity market. For this exchange, you need a Demat account with any of the depositories as suggested on their website.

You can trade in silver in the National Spot Exchange between 10 a.m. to 11.30 p.m. The quantity you can trade is 1 unit to 100 grams on a given day. On MCX, the trading of silver is done in 3 types of contracts, which are as follows:

Silver Mini (SILVERM)

• Trading units: 5 kg

• Base value: 1 kg

• Maximum size of order: 600 kg

• Quotation of price: Ex-Ahmedabad

• Minimum price movement (Tick size): Rs. 1/kg

• Purity and fineness grade: 999

• Daily price limit: 4%

• Upper limit on position: 60MT for all contracts of silver together for all single investors. 300MT or 15 percent of market-wide open positions for a member investing collectively for all clients.

Silver Micro (SILVERMIC)

• Trading from Monday to Friday

• Trading units: 1 kg

• Base value: 1 kg

• Maximum size of order: 600 kg

• Quotation of price: Ex-Ahmedabad

• Minimum price movement (Tick size): Rs. 1/kg

• Purity and fineness grade: 999

• Daily price limit: 4%

• Upper limit on position: 60MT for all contracts of silver together for all single investors. 300MT or 15 percent of market-wide open positions for a member investing collectively for all clients.

Silver 1000 (SILVER1000)

• Trading from Monday to Friday

• Trading units: 5 kg

• Base value: 1 kg

• Maximum size of order: 600Kg

• Quotation of price: Ex-Ahmedabad

• Minimum price movement (Tick size): Rs. 1/kg

• Purity and fineness grade: 999

• Daily price limit: 4%

• Upper limit on position: 60MT for all contracts of silver together for all single investors. 300MT or 15 percent of market-wide open positions for a member investing collectively for all clients.

Apart from the details mentioned above, one thing that needs to be kept in mind is the taxation on buying and selling silver. Taxes that can be imposed on the purchase of silver are wealth tax or VAT/GST.

In comparison, capital gain tax can be imposed on the sale of silver—long-term capital gain if silver is held for more than 36 months and short-term capital gain if silver is held for less than 36 months.

How can you buy gold in India?

Gold can be purchased from the market in similar ways as silver. Gold is considered more important compared to silver due to certain factors. Due to this, gold rates are higher than silver in the Indian market.

Just like silver, investment in gold can be done by buying gold bars, gold coins, gold biscuits, gold Jewellery or any other gold article. But as the Indian economy has also advanced in certain things, gold can also be traded in the commodity market.

Investment can be done in gold-related mutual funds and stocks. Financial instruments like Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have eased investment options.

Gold price details

For buying gold or investing in gold, first of all, you need to get the details of the gold price prevailing in the market. The rates of gold also tend to move in tune with market fluctuations.

Also, different country regions have different rates because of import charges, logistics costs, other operational costs, taxes, and levies. Gold rates are updated daily. There are many other factors that impact the prices of gold.

Type/ form of gold

After getting the details of gold rates, you need to decide what form of gold you want to invest in. Here are some details about the different forms of gold.

• Gold bars, Gold coins and other articles: You can buy gold biscuits, gold bars, gold coins, gold jewellery and other gold articles from banks or jewellery shops available in nearby markets. These are priced on the basis of weights. The measurement of gold is also done in terms of grams or troy ounces. You might also have heard about karat. Karat is a unit that provides the detail of the purity or fineness of gold. 24 karat gold is considered to be pure gold. As pure gold is soft, the articles are made by mixing the alloy of copper with it. Below are some details about the purity of karats:

The prices of gold bars, coins, jewellery also include the charges for hallmarking. Making charges and melting charges are also added to the cost of gold jewellery.

You need to verify all the details such as weight, price of gold on a particular day, hallmark charges, making charges, assaying certificate charges and other costs mentioned in the bill while buying gold.

There are a number of options available in the market for buying gold. Now you can buy gold online also. But this way is a bit risky as there can be chances of fraud.

• Gold in dematerialized form: You can also invest in gold by trading it in dematerialized form. This form has solved the issue of storage of gold. For this, you need to have a demat account. Then you can invest in gold stocks, trade in gold futures and other financial instruments.
  
  Gold is traded in the commodity market quickly and easily. There is an option of mutual funds also. By investing in FOF (Fund of Funds) you indirectly invest in gold because it focuses on trading in units of gold related funds.

• Authenticated Purchase: While buying gold, one needs to take care to avoid a case of fraud. The gold is BIS hallmarked for its purity or fineness with the year of the hallmark. So, while visiting any jewellery shop, you need to check that the jeweller sells hallmarked jewellery.
  
  There are authorised assaying and hallmarking stores that are available for verifying the hallmark charges. You must ensure the originality of the gold article that you are purchasing.
  
  As per BIS, the hallmarking charges are Rs. 35 per article, and the minimum charges for consignment are Rs. 200, to which service tax and other tax levies will be added separately. The hallmark charges are levied per article of gold and not on the basis of weight.
  
  The making charge to be collected by the jeweller depends on the type of jewellery you want to buy. Typically, it ranges from 3% to 25%. Hence, you need to take extra precautions while investing in gold in any form, through any mode.

How to sell silver in India?

There are many jewellery shops and pawn shops in the market that buy old silver. As silver is a liquid form of investment, it can be easily sold in the market. You can even exchange your old silver bars, silver coins, silver jewellery or any other article for a new one.

Of course, you might need to pay an additional amount for that exchange. Before selling the silver, you must get it weighed at a trusted jewellery store. You also need to be aware of the current market rates of silver. Usually, silver bars and coins can be sold at better rates than silver jewellery or articles.

You might not get a good price for designer jewellery as the jewellers pay on the basis of weight. To earn a good price for your silver, check with different jewellery shops to understand the maximum and minimum money you can get. However, you may not get the prevailing rate in the market for your silver at some jewellery stores.

Factors that determine per 1 gram silver price in India

As we discussed earlier, many factors determine silver rates. Among all those factors, one is the international market rates. Whatever happens in the international market has an impact on the prices of silver in India. In the Indian market, the trend of the rates of gold and silver is almost similar.

Whenever the gold rates increase, the silver rates also go on the higher side. Likewise, when the prices of silver go up, the prices of gold change accordingly. And when there is a fall in the rates of gold, the rates of silver also observe a decrease in trend.

The other factors that are responsible for the pricing of silver are market interest rates, inflationary rate, production within the country, foreign exchange rates and many more. Still, the rates of silver are cheaper than the rates of gold. The main reason behind this is the lower demand for silver in Indian markets.

Factors that affect the rates of silver in India

Demand-Supply in Industries: The supply of silver is less, and its demand is more. But because of the less supply of silver, the prices are high. Apart from this, the utility of silver in various things is more in the industries, and this also has an impact on the rates of silver.

Large Investments: As there is more demand and less supply of silver in India, the investors are attracted towards silver who want to invest with a long-term perspective.

On the other hand, the market of silver is smaller compared to gold, and due to this, large investors can influence the rates of silver in a particular period of time.

Mining Costs: The mining costs affect the rates of silver. When the mining cost is more, less mining is done, and because of this, the supply of silver decreases. And as there is a decrease in the supply of silver, the rate of silver increases.

Technological Advancements: As India is a developing nation, numerous technological advancements occur daily. New products are launched every day. Many products use silver, and the manufacturers find silver irreplaceable.

Gold rates: As seen before, gold rates are the main drivers for the rates of silver. They tend to move in almost the same direction.

Prevailing Interest rates: The interest rates prevailing in the market are the basis for the determination of rates of silver. The interest rates depict the current market situation.

Since investment in silver is made with a long-term objective instead of short-term profits, the market rates generally have an inverse relation with the fluctuating rates.

Inflation in the economy: When the inflation rate goes up, the purchasing power of the consumer reduces or the income is reduced indirectly. Due to this, people can invest less in silver, which affects the rates of silver.

Still, people consider the investment in gold or silver as a hedge against inflation. So, even when the value of the currency falls, silver provides assurance against the loss that occurs in purchasing power.

Cost of imports: As we all know, India does not have enough natural resources to extract minerals. And to fulfil the nation's demand for silver, India needs to import it in large quantities.

When it comes to imports, there is the entry of foreign exchange rates. Therefore, the rates of conversion currency affect the price of silver. The imports of silver also affect the trade deficit of our country.

Prices of crude oil: The mining of silver is a process that requires high energy power. In India, oil is an important source of energy. And because of this, the rates of silver also rely on the crude oil rates. Whenever there’s a movement in one sector, there is an impact on the other also.

Government rules and regulations: The rules and regulations of the government also affect the rate of silver. For instance, when there is a trade deficit in our country, the government takes some actions to bring control on imports in India.

Frequently Asked Question

Q. Which silver is the best to buy?

Buying silver coins or bars is a good option for investment. The reason is that silver coins include only the packing and certification charges.

On the other hand, silver jewellery or other articles cost more due to other charges such as making charges, melting charges, and labour work costs also being added to the cost of silver. 

Apart from that, taxes and levies also vary in different types of investment. Considering that, investing in silver coins is a better option. It is, therefore, easier to sell silver coins than silver jewellery.

And we get a value closer to the market price for these coins, which is not the case for jewellery. The article has explained the cost of charges and buying and selling tips.

Q. Is investing in silver a good idea?

The currency's value is falling due to various reasons in the current market situation. Therefore, we need a saviour for our economic downturn. And silver can be a ray of hope as the prices of silver have fewer fluctuations compared to the other sectors.

People invest in silver to earn long-term returns. But sometimes, silver also helps hedge the loss of purchasing power, which occurs due to a rise in inflation. And investment in silver will provide a better return with a stable portfolio.

Silver coins issued by the government mints are easily sold in the market whenever needed. The premium for investment in silver in the commodity market is less, and it is easier to carry and store silver.

Another reason investment in silver is recommended is the health benefits that are gained from it. It is used for medical emergencies also. For all these reasons, investing in silver is a good idea.

Q. What percentage is fine silver?

Fine silver is also called pure silver or three nines fine silver. The grading system of purity of silver is called millesimal fineness. This grading is expressed in decimals. The silver with grade .9999 is considered pure. This means, metal that has 99.99% silver content is called fine silver.

It contains 999.9/1000 of silver content and is too soft to be used for general purpose. The remaining part of this amount is of impurities. Bullion bars are made from this fine silver for international trading, commodities and metal exchange and investment in silver.

The grade of fineness is assayed on silver by BIS hallmark after verifying the content and quality of silver. Even silver coins, jewellery and other articles are also made from fine silver. But a small proportion of other metal is also added to it due to its softness. The crux is, it is the grade of silver purity that matters.

Q. What does 875 mean on silver?

An alloy of copper or zinc is mixed with silver when making silver jewellery. This increases the durability of the jewellery. The hardness of metal is increased so it can be used for general purposes.

We have seen earlier that there is a grading system for silver through which people get to know about the content proportion of silver in an article or jewellery or any other item.

These items of jewellery or articles are then sold in the market after assaying a hallmark on them. 875 on silver means that it contains 87.5% silver and 12.5% other metal, that is, 875/1000 grams is silver in it. 875 is the grade that is given to a piece of jewellery or article.

84 zolotnik Russian silver has a fineness of 875 grade. It is also equivalent to 21  karat fine silver.

Q. Is .999 or .9999 silver better?

The detailed table for the different grades and purity of silver based on the content of silver in a metal is mentioned above in this article. There is not much difference between the grades .999 and .9999. .999 means it contains 999/1000 grams of silver, while .9999 means it contains 999.9/1000 grams of silver.

In percentage of purity terms, it can be referred to as 99.9% and 99.99%, respectively. And as there is more silver content in the .9999 grade, it is finer than the other one.

The silver with grade .9999 is called fine silver, and it is used for trading in the international market and in making bullions. .9999 silver is considered to be the purest form of silver. Hence, it can be said that .9999 grade silver is better than .999 grade silver.

You can refer to the table in the article for further clarity.

Q. What does 225 mean on silver?

The answer to this can’t be found easily because this grade is seen less compared to the grades listed in the table provided in this article. Though grades are generally assayed on silver jewellery, coins or any articles based on grams, sometimes, you may find a number that looks odd.

It is because it may be considered on the basis of any other unit of measurement. The grade of 225 is based on the measurement in terms of karat. Generally, karat is used more for expressing the weight of gold content in a metal or jewellery or any article.

But it is also used to express the weight of silver content in any article or jewellery or coin or any other items. Accordingly, 225 on silver means it is made of 22.5 karats, that is, it contains 22.5 karats of silver and the remaining proportion is of any other metal.

Q. What is the rate of 1 kg silver?

The rate of 1 kg silver means the prevailing rate in the market for 1 kg of silver. As you already know, the rates of silver are changed regularly depending on various factors that are explained in this article.

The per kg rate of silver is determined by considering the international market fulctuations, demand and supply of silver, exchange rate prevailing in the market, international crude oil prices and many more.

Based on this rate, silver is bought and sold in the market. Now a days, people have developed habit of checking the current rates of silver before making any transaction of silver.

It can be represented as per gram or kilograms or karats. Based on current market prices, the rate of silver as of 13th Feb 2022 is Rs. 62945 per 1 Kg and Rs. 62.945 per 1 gram.

Q. What are three facts about silver?

You have read about many kinds of usages of silver in various sectors. Below are a few interesting facts related to silver:

• The origin of silver - The word ‘silver’ is derived from the word "seolfor", which is of Anglo-Saxon origin. It is believed that silver was found in 5000 BC, and it is one of the first five precious metals that were discovered.

• Silver is used as antibiotic coating in medical devices and also incorporated into dressings of wounds. Silver can also be used for food decorations, as it is not harmful for the human body.

• Silver is useful for making telescopes, mirrors, microscopes and solar cells as it has a reflective nature. But it can not reflect ultraviolet light. On the other hand, the rank of silver is 100 out of 100 in electrical conductivity. It is also a fundamental component for photovoltaic cells, as it is used in solar panels.