- Silver prices peaked in January 2026 but have since fallen sharply, narrowing the gap with gold
- Silver futures on MCX dropped to Rs 1,78,900 per kg, gold futures fell to Rs 1,38,419 per 10 grams
- Silver is down 57% from its January peak, while gold has declined about 23% in the same period
In January 2026, silver prices peaked to an extent where one kilogram of the white metal can buy more than two 10-gram coins of gold. Just 10 months later, the gap has shrunk, and is narrowing even faster.
Silver futures on India's Multi Commodity Exchange dwindled by another Rs 10,500 on Friday, plunging to Rs 1,78,900. On the same day, gold futures fell Rs 4,347 to Rs 1,38,419 per 10 grams. The difference between the two now stands at roughly Rs 40,500.
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Put another way, silver needs to fall another 22.6% with gold holding steady for one kilogram of the white metal to be worth the same as 10 grams of the yellow one.
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That is not as far-fetched as it sounds. The equation breaks even when the gold to silver ratio hits 100, and the ratio has crossed that mark before. It rose above 100 in April 2025, its highest since mid-May 2020, before silver's historic rally dragged it below 50 by January this year.
Where Prices Stand
The selloff was global. Spot silver plunged about 6% on Friday to settle near $49 an ounce, slipping below $50 for the first time in 11 months. Spot gold dropped close to 4% to about $3,875 an ounce, its lowest level in a year.
In the physical market, the India Bullion and Jewellers Association's closing benchmark on Friday put 999-purity silver at Rs 1,81,344 per kg and 24-carat gold at Rs 1,40,054 per 10 grams.
In Delhi, silver fell Rs 8,300 to Rs 1,90,200 per kg, its lowest in nearly 11 months, while gold of 99.9% purity slipped Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,45,200 per 10 grams, inclusive of taxes, according to the All India Sarafa Association, PTI reported.
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How Far Silver Has Fallen
MCX silver had touched a record Rs 4,20,048 per kg in January. At Friday's close, it is down about 57% from that peak. Gold has lost about 23% from its own January high of Rs 1,80,779 per 10 grams over the same period.
Overseas, the gap is starker. Silver hit a record of about $122 an ounce in January and is now down roughly 60%. Gold is about 30% off its record of $5,595.
That divergence is what has pushed the ratio up. Reuters noted that it now takes 79 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold, the most in 11 months, compared with 46 ounces when silver peaked in January.
“The sky is falling,” independent metals trader Tai Wong told the news agency, adding that metals would struggle to escape the pull of a steep stock market correction.
What's Driving The Fall
Friday's slump came as a technology-led selloff on Wall Street, sparked by doubts over returns on AI spending, triggered forced selling and margin calls across assets. Brent crude settling above $117 a barrel kept inflation fears alive, and with them bets on another US Federal Reserve rate hike in December. The Fed held rates at 3.75%-4% on Wednesday, with two policymakers voting for an immediate hike.
“Spot gold slipped below USD 3,900 per ounce for the first time since mid-July,” said Kaynat Chainwala, AVP of commodity research at Kotak Neo, according to PTI. She said elevated oil prices, stronger-than-expected US growth and a hotter inflation print had kept the door open for another hike, and that gold and silver were headed for monthly losses of more than 4% and 16%, respectively.
Silver has taken the bigger hit because, unlike gold, it does not enjoy steady central bank buying. Nearly half its demand comes from industry, which makes it far more sensitive to growth scares.
Why The Ratio Could Widen Further
Several analysts see room for silver to keep underperforming. In a note this week, Metals Focus said the severe supply tightness that powered silver to record highs has largely eased. London vault inventories have climbed to their highest in nearly four years, silver ETF holdings have dropped by about 60 million ounces this year, and the consultancy expects the global market to swing from deficit to surplus in 2027. It also noted that the gold-silver ratio averaged 82 between 2020 and 2025, suggesting the current level is not yet stretched by recent standards.
HSBC said industrial and jewellery demand for silver was falling, and expects the metal to average $64 an ounce in 2027, down from its forecast of $71 for this year, according to Reuters.
At the 2020-2025 average of 82, MCX silver would trade near Rs 1,68,800 per kg at current gold prices. Parity with 10 grams of gold would require a further leg down to about Rs 1,38,400.
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