SI futures explained: silver's big contract and big swings
Silver lives two lives. It's a precious metal like gold, and a factory metal used in electronics and solar panels. That mix makes it swing more than gold.
At a glance
| Item | SI (COMEX silver) |
|---|---|
| What it is | A futures contract for 5,000 troy ounces of silver |
| Tick size | $0.005 per ounce (half a cent) |
| One tick is worth | $25.00 ($50 per 1-cent move, $5,000 per $1 move) |
| Busiest hours (ET) | London morning and New York session, about 3:00 am–1:30 pm |
| What moves it most | Gold, real interest rates, the dollar, factory demand |
| Trading hours | Sunday 6 pm to Friday 5 pm ET, daily break 5–6 pm ET |
Check cmegroup.com for current specs.
What moves it
- Gold. Silver often follows gold's direction, but with bigger moves. See gold futures.
- Real interest rates and the dollar. The same forces that pull on gold pull on silver.
- Factory demand. Silver is used in electronics, solar panels and other industry. News about factory activity and the world economy matters here more than for gold.
- The Fed and US data. FOMC at 2:00 pm ET. CPI and jobs at 8:30 am ET.
- Supply. Much silver is mined as a by-product of other metals, so supply doesn't react quickly to price.
When it's busiest
Silver is most active from the London morning through the New York session, with a peak when both overlap, around 8:00 am to noon ET. Overnight it can get thin, with wider gaps between buy and sell prices.
CME hours are fixed in ET all year. London's open moves in ET for a few weeks when the US and UK change clocks on different dates.
Its personality
- More jumpy than gold. Silver often moves a bigger percent on the same news.
- Fast squeezes. It can run hard in either direction in a short time.
- A big contract. At $5,000 per $1 move, a single SI contract carries a lot of risk.
- Weekend gaps from Friday's close to Sunday's open.
- Several delivery months a year. Follow the active month and roll before expiry. Check cmegroup.com.
Reading it with our method
Daily chart first. Mark the last places price turned around and note the direction. Silver's fast moves make the bigger chart's view especially useful, because the small charts get noisy.
Only a candle body close past a level counts.
Then size, honestly. Example: stop 20 cents away = 40 ticks × $25 = $1,000 for one SI. If your plan allows $100, SI doesn't fit that stop. CME lists smaller silver contracts, and forex brokers offer spot silver (XAG/USD) in smaller amounts. Run the numbers in the futures tick value calculator. A math example, not a promise.
Common mistakes
- Copying a gold-sized stop. Silver's swings are bigger in percent.
- Underestimating contract size. One cent is $50 on SI.
- Assuming it always follows gold. On factory-demand news, it can go its own way.
- Trading thin overnight hours at full size.
Questions
How much is one tick on silver futures?
For SI, one tick is $0.005 per ounce on 5,000 ounces, which is $25.
Why is silver more volatile than gold?
Silver's market is smaller, and it's driven by both investment demand and factory demand. Mixed drivers and a smaller market tend to mean bigger swings.
Is there a smaller silver futures contract?
Yes. CME lists smaller silver contracts. Check cmegroup.com for current sizes and specs.
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