MONTHLY SILVER / WORLD BANK / 1960–2026
Where did silver trade, and how long did recoveries take?
The first chart shows the nominal monthly average. The aligned underwater path and recovery ledger answer a different question: how deep each selected-range decline became and whether a later monthly average recovered its prior peak.
UNDERWATER PATH
Depth and time below the running peak
Zero marks a new monthly-average high inside the selected view. Negative readings show the gap from that peak; the age counter measures elapsed calendar months, not trading sessions.
| Peak month | Trough month | Drawdown | Months to trough | Recovery month | Total recovery time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04$42.70 | 2015-12$14.10 | -67.0% | 4y 8m | 2025-09 | 14y 5m |
| 2008-03$19.30 | 2008-11$9.90 | -48.7% | 8 months | 2010-09 | 2y 6m |
| 2026-01$92.10 | 2026-07$58.80 | -36.2% | 6 months | Not recovered | Not recovered |
| 2007-02$13.90 | 2007-08$12.30 | -11.5% | 6 months | 2007-11 | 9 months |
| 2006-08$12.20 | 2006-10$11.60 | -4.9% | 2 months | 2006-11 | 3 months |
| 2006-12$13.30 | 2007-01$12.80 | -3.8% | 1 months | 2007-02 | 2 months |
Interpretation boundary: this latest-vintage monthly-average series changes definition before 1962 and before July 1976. It is not a live or executable quote, smooths intramonth paths and excludes premiums, spreads, storage and taxes. A prior recovery duration does not estimate the next recovery.
THREE DIFFERENT QUESTIONS
Price level, drawdown depth and recovery time describe different parts of the path
Monthly average
Answers what nominal USD-per-ounce level the source averaged during one calendar month. It does not preserve that month's high, low or closing path.
Selected-range drawdown
Measures each month below the highest average observed since the selected view began. Changing the range can change the starting peak.
Recovery duration
Counts calendar months from a prior peak until an equal or higher monthly average appears. It leaves unfinished episodes open instead of estimating an end date.
SOURCE CONTINUITY
A long series can still contain changes in what was measured
The World Bank documents two boundaries that matter for interpretation: observations before 1962 describe unrefined silver, and observations before July 1976 use the Handy & Harman price basis. Those points remain useful historical evidence, but they should not be presented as one unchanged modern benchmark.
The chart marks the boundaries whenever they fall inside the selected range. GoldObserve does not overwrite early values, silently splice an LBMA series, or imply that a smooth visual line guarantees identical market conventions through time.
WHY SILVER'S PATH CAN BE DIFFERENT
Industrial demand, investment flows and a smaller market can amplify movement
Silver is both a monetary and industrial metal. Fabrication demand, mine by-product supply, recycling, inventories, currency moves and investment flows can affect it differently from gold. A large historical rally or deep drawdown therefore cannot be reduced to one permanent driver.
The recovery ledger is descriptive: it shows what happened after prior monthly-average peaks. It does not claim that a similar decline must recover, that the old high is fair value, or that one historical episode is a trading template.
METHOD AND LIMITS
One licensed monthly series, no daily-frequency splice
GoldObserve retains the silver column from the World Bank Commodity Price Data monthly workbook under CC BY 4.0. Every value is a calendar-month average in nominal USD per troy ounce. The published workbook hash and normalized-record hash identify the retained version.
The workbook can be revised, so this is latest-vintage evidence rather than a point-in-time backtest. Monthly averages smooth intramonth stress. Physical silver premiums, bid/ask spreads, fabrication, storage, financing, taxes and currency translation remain outside the chart.
RELATED RESEARCH
Use a different tool when the question changes
QUESTIONS
Silver price history FAQ
How far back does this silver price history go?
The retained World Bank Pink Sheet series contains monthly-average nominal USD silver prices from January 1960 through July 2026. GoldObserve does not relabel it as daily history or splice it to a live quote.
Why are there definition boundaries in the silver series?
World Bank metadata identifies the pre-1962 observations as unrefined silver and Handy & Harman as the price basis before July 1976. GoldObserve preserves those boundaries instead of implying one unchanged modern benchmark.
How is a silver drawdown recovery measured?
A drawdown begins after a selected-range monthly peak. Recovery occurs only when a later monthly average reaches or exceeds that prior peak. An unrecovered episode remains explicitly open.
Is the latest silver value a live spot price?
No. It is the latest monthly average in the retained World Bank workbook vintage. Live spot, futures settlement, dealer bid and physical-product ask prices are different observations.
Does a long past recovery time predict the next one?
No. Recovery duration describes one historical path. It does not estimate a future recovery date, fair value or expected return.