Silver was trading at $63.26 per ounce at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time, down $1.86 from the same time the previous day, when it stood at $65.12. The move represented a 2.85% daily decline, while silver was up 13.16% from $55.90 a month earlier and 69.23% from $37.38 a year earlier. The article also says silver has surged more than 150% over the past year and reached its highest levels in over a decade. Historically, silver has underperformed the S&P 500 by about 96% since 1921, but investors use it as a store of value and a hedge against inflation. Its price tends to fluctuate more than gold because of industrial demand from areas such as solar equipment and healthcare devices. Investors can gain exposure through bullion, government-minted coins, jewelry, silver-mining stocks or silver-backed ETFs (exchange-traded funds), while exchange-traded bullion and coins must meet a minimum purity of 99.9%. Silver’s 6:30 a.m. price was below gold at $4,363.96 but above platinum at $1,733.50 and palladium at $1,283.86. The article says tight supplies, industrial demand and investor interest are driving prices in 2026, and that some experts see potential for further gains. It also notes that many advisers suggest allocating no more than 10% to 15% of a portfolio to silver and keeping total precious-metals holdings below 20%.