iShares silver fund's 1.38% discount was a morning price

iShares Silver Trust SLV closed Friday, Oct. 30, at $44.60 a share. iShares valued the silver in the trust at $45.22 and reported a discount of 1.38%.

The shares fell 5.7% and silver futures fell 5.9%, while the net asset value fell 4.43%. The price at the close moved with the futures, and the valuation, set that morning, did not fall as far.

iShares says the trust's silver and other assets "are valued on the basis of each day's announced LBMA Silver Price," the London Bullion Market Association benchmark.

The association says that price is set in an auction that starts at noon London time. Last week the United Kingdom had already set its clocks back, on Oct. 25, and the United States had not, so London was four hours ahead of New York. Noon there was 8 a.m. in New York, eight hours before the 4 p.m. close.

In its annual report, signed in February, the trust says that difference in hours may show up as a gap between the trading price and the net asset value.

The 1.38% was not the cost of buying the shares. iShares put the 30-day median difference between the bid and the ask at 0.02% on Friday.

Aberdeen Investments sponsors a second silver fund, the abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF SIVR, spelled that way on the trust's filings. The quarterly report filed in August says the trustee values the silver from the auction that starts at noon in London.

On Friday its net asset value fell 4.43%, the same as iShares', and the shares fell 5.7%. They closed 1.45% under the value Aberdeen published for the day.

On Tuesday iShares reported a premium of 2.23%, with the shares at $49.16 and the net asset value at $48.09. Its page showed a discount on Monday, a premium on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a discount on Thursday, before Friday's wider discount.

Of 17 physical gold, silver, platinum and palladium funds, 15 could be compared with Friday's closing price. So could 17 of 38 funds that hold one developed country's stocks. The other two metal funds, and 21 of the country funds, could not be compared with Friday's close.

For the two silver funds, the published value fell less than the futures, and the filings say that value is the noon London auction.

What the silver fund's discount means on Monday

Daylight saving time ended in the United States on Sunday, so London is again five hours ahead of New York. Noon there is 7 a.m. in New York, nine hours before the 4 p.m. close.

Nine hours is the ordinary gap for most of the year. Eight was last week's.

The price on the screen is the share price, and on Friday it fell with silver futures. The net asset value on the page is the morning auction in London. A discount to it is a discount to an earlier silver price, not a cheaper price for the metal at the moment you trade.