Silver Price in Pakistan (PKR)

Three Variables Behind Pakistan's Chandi Rate

The term chandi - Urdu for silver - is used in everyday Pakistani conversation as naturally as any commodity name, but what determines the daily rate most buyers check on their phones involves a chain of inputs that runs from the COMEX exchange in New York to the open market exchange counter on your local high street.

GoldPrice.Live converts the live XAG/USD spot price into Pakistani rupees in real time. But the rate on this page - the international benchmark in PKR - and the rate quoted at your local Sarafa Bazar are related but not identical. Here's what sits between them.

The Three Drivers of Pakistan's Domestic Silver Price

1. The international XAG/USD spot rate. Pakistan imports virtually all of its commercial silver. The starting point for every domestic price calculation is the LBMA/COMEX global benchmark - the same rate that feeds this page. Any move in the international silver market flows directly into Pakistan's local rate.

2. The USD/PKR exchange rate. The Pakistani rupee has experienced significant depreciation against the dollar over the past several years. Because silver is priced globally in USD, every rupee that loses value against the dollar automatically pushes the domestic chandi rate higher in PKR terms - even when international silver is completely flat. The State Bank of Pakistan publishes the official interbank rate, while the open market rate used by dealers in practice is typically a few rupees higher per dollar. When the spread between interbank and open market rates widens - as it has during periods of SBP intervention - the effective PKR cost of silver for local buyers moves accordingly.

3. Import duty and regulatory costs. Silver imported into Pakistan is subject to customs duty and applicable taxes. These costs are built into the landed price before the metal reaches Sarafa markets, adding a structural layer above the international benchmark that keeps the domestic chandi rate consistently higher than a raw XAG/PKR conversion would imply.

The combination of these three variables means the chandi rate can rise sharply even when global silver is unchanged - a weaker rupee or a duty revision can move the domestic price independently of anything happening in New York or London. For macro context on what is currently driving the underlying XAG/USD rate, the silver market commentary page covers the global fundamental picture in regular detail.

How the Sarafa Bazar Sets Pakistan's Official Chandi Rate

The domestic silver benchmark in Pakistan is published by the Sarafa Bazar Association - the industry body representing bullion traders in the country's major markets, principally Karachi's Sarafa Bazar in Zaveri Bazaar and its equivalents in Lahore and other commercial centres.

The Sarafa rate is announced daily and updated periodically through trading hours, calculated from the international spot price converted at the prevailing USD/PKR open market rate and adjusted for import costs. This rate serves as the reference point that jewellers, bullion dealers, and industrial buyers across the country use for their physical transactions.

One important distinction for buyers: the Sarafa rate is the metal rate only. It does not include making charges (ujrat), which are negotiated separately with the jeweller or craftsman, and it does not include applicable GST on the transaction. Always ask for the metal rate and making charges as two separate line items on any invoice.

The Tola: Pakistan's Primary Silver Weight Unit

While this page displays the XAG/PKR rate per troy ounce for international comparability, Pakistani buyers and sellers universally think in tolas. One tola equals 11.664 grams - a traditional South Asian weight unit that predates modern metric standards and remains the dominant benchmark across Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh for precious metals transactions.

Current silver rates in Pakistan are approximately Rs. 6,700–6,800 per tola for 999 fine silver, with minor city-to-city variation of Rs. 20-40 between Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad - significantly less variation than gold, reflecting silver's lower per-unit value and simpler logistics. The silver price per tola page shows the live international spot rate in tola units directly.

City Rates: Why Karachi, Lahore, and Sialkot Differ Slightly

Silver rates across Pakistani cities are nearly uniform by design - the Sarafa Bazar Association publishes a national benchmark - but minor variations of Rs. 20-40 per tola do exist. The reasons are practical rather than structural:

1. Transport costs from the primary import points (Karachi being the main port of entry) add a small logistics component to upcountry rates.
2. Local market liquidity in cities like Sialkot and Peshawar, where silver trades in smaller volumes, means dealers may apply a slightly wider bid-ask spread.
3. Karachi's Sarafa Bazar typically offers the tightest spreads and the most competitive scrap buyback rates, reflecting its position as the country's largest and most liquid precious metals market.

For the historical picture of how XAG/PKR has moved over recent months and years, the silver price chart covers timeframes from 1 day to 5 years. For today's session data - open, high, low, and current - the silver price today page shows the full daily picture.

If you have any questions about how this page works or the data behind it, reach out through the contact page.