What Are Silver Futures (SI)? Complete Contract Breakdown
Silver futures (SI) are standardized contracts traded on COMEX that let you speculate on or hedge the price of silver without touching physical metal. If you’re new to SI, don’t overthink it—this is simply a leveraged bet on the price of silver with rules, specifications, and margin requirements you must understand before clicking anything.
Why SI Exists in the First Place
SI gives traders, hedge funds, refiners, and industrial buyers a way to manage silver price exposure. It also lets retail traders get far more leverage than spot silver, SLV, or mining stocks ever offer. Unlike spot metal, SI has:
- Defined contract size
- Transparent tick values
- Real liquidity during core hours
- Regulated clearing through CME
Exact SI Contract Specs
Here’s the contract structure, no fluff:
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Exchange | COMEX (CME Group) |
| Contract Size | 5,000 troy ounces |
| Tick Size | 0.005 |
| Tick Value | $25.00 |
| Minimum Price Fluctuation | 0.005 per ounce |
| Settlement | Physical (but you’ll never take delivery) |
The leverage is obvious. A single SI contract controls thousands of ounces. That’s why most beginners blow up—because they treat SI like SLV. If you want a smaller version, COMEX offers the micro (SIL), but SI is the real liquidity center.
Why SI Moves the Way It Does
Silver isn’t just a “poor man’s gold.” SI reacts to:
- Industrial demand (electronics, solar, batteries)
- Monetary demand (safe-haven correlation to GC)
- The U.S. dollar index
- Macro data like CPI and NFP
If you want more detail on silver’s volatility profile later, see the upcoming article SI Volatility & ATR Behavior.
SI vs Spot Silver and SLV
SI blows both out of the water in terms of:
- Liquidity during U.S. hours
- Leverage
- Granular price movement
- Institutional flow
SLV is slow. Spot silver is an over-the-counter mess. SI is cleaner, tighter, and reacts instantly to economic reports—just like GC vs SI behavior which you’ll see in a later article.
The Real Reason Traders Use SI
SI gives you:
- Clear, defined rules
- Strong volume during the COMEX pit open
- Volatility that actually pays
- Institutional-grade price action
Final Takeaway
Silver futures (SI) are simple once you understand the contract specs and the forces that push price around. Know the multiplier, know the tick value, and respect the volatility. If you don’t, SI will steamroll you. If you do, it becomes one of the cleanest metals contracts to trade on CME.