Silver Prices Plunged Sharply, Spot Market Showed No Significant Improvement [SMM Daily Review]

Published: May 18, 2026 11:45

Today, SMM's 10:00 AM pricing for the SGE Ag(T+D) was 18,351 yuan/kg, with premiums ranging from TD -30 to -10 yuan/kg, averaging -20 yuan/kg.
Precious metals futures remained under pressure today. Heating rate hike expectations drove a sharp decline in precious metals, compounded by easing tariff concerns and a pullback in strategic resource premiums, leading to a significant intraday drop in silver.
Spot market, suppliers of GB-standard silver ingots posted mainstream quotations at premiums of -30 to -10 yuan/kg against TD. Although mainstream discount quotations narrowed slightly amid the sharp futures decline, market transactions showed no improvement, with the trading center still clearly skewed toward the lower end of quotations. Some suppliers reported that transactions for GB-standard silver ingots remained extremely difficult even at the lower end of quotations, as downstream restocking willingness was limited and involution among numerous spot market offers continued. In the Shenzhen area, non-delivery brand quotations maintained large discounts deviating from mainstream quotations, while investment demand recovered slightly. The overall spot market remained sluggish today.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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