Start with a defined market
The LBMA Silver Price provides a reference for unallocated silver delivered in London. Its meaning depends on that market definition, not merely on the word “silver”. A benchmark can help parties value or price transactions on a common basis, but a different location, product form or delivery arrangement may require adjustments. A reference for wholesale metal therefore does not automatically describe the amount a retail buyer will pay for a particular coin or bar.
An auction produces the setting
ICE Benchmark Administration independently operates and administers the benchmark auction. Participants submit buying and selling interest during a structured process. If the imbalance remains outside the permitted threshold, the price is adjusted and another round follows. When the process reaches its completion criteria, the final auction price becomes the published benchmark. This is a specified price-discovery procedure, rather than an arithmetic average of whichever retail quotations happen to be visible online.
A setting is not a live ticker
The published setting belongs to its auction and reference date. A trading screen may continue to change as subsequent orders, information and market conditions evolve. Two quotations can consequently differ without either being erroneous: they may refer to different times or different instruments. Compare the timestamp, currency, unit and market definition before judging a discrepancy. A benchmark setting should not be silently relabelled as the latest executable bid or offer available to an individual reader.
Use the reference within its limits
Retail premiums, fabrication, delivery and transaction costs remain separate from the wholesale reference. A dealer’s actual buyback quotation can differ again. The benchmark also has an administrator, a documented methodology and data-use terms; understanding the mechanism does not grant unrestricted rights to reproduce its data. This article explains the reference, not a current price. For any numerical comparison, retain the original source, date and quotation convention so that the comparison remains reproducible.
Sources & further reading
Sources checked 14 November 2026. Reference organisations do not endorse this website. Price examples are hypothetical and educational.