Gold Physical Market Brief: August 25, 2026

Executive summary

Physical delivery activity for the August Gold contract has slowed to a trickle, with just 13 new notices filed. This brings the month-to-date total to a robust 19,276 contracts. The lack of new demand at the tail-end of the delivery month contrasts with recent CFTC data, which shows Managed Money holding a significant net long position. This suggests speculative sentiment may be running ahead of immediate physical offtake.

Delivery intentions (today + MTD context)

• Today's Activity: For August 25, a total of 13 delivery intentions were issued and stopped for the August 2026 GC contract. This is a sharp drop from the 960 contracts reported yesterday and indicates that delivery activity for the month is winding down.
• Month-to-Date (MTD): The cumulative delivery total for the August contract now stands at 19,276 contracts. This represents a significant volume of physical settlement for the month.

Warehouse stocks

CME Group does not publish consolidated daily warehouse stock reports for COMEX Gold. For more detailed information on registered stocks by depository, please refer to exchange-provided sources. More information can be found on the warehouse and delivery data stream.

COT cross-check

• Positioning Snapshot: As of the latest COT report from August 21, 2026, Managed Money participants held a heavily bullish net long position, with 154,595 long contracts against only 12,947 short contracts.
• Positioning vs. Physical Flow: This strong speculative net long stance was established during a period of significant physical delivery earlier in the month. However, it now contrasts with the near-zero level of new physical delivery intentions being posted daily. While the cumulative monthly delivery has been strong, the sharp fall-off in daily activity suggests immediate physical demand at the futures delivery window has been satisfied for now.

Risks and watchpoints

• Speculative Length: The large net long position held by speculators could be a point of vulnerability if prices fail to maintain upward momentum, especially as the current physical delivery cycle concludes without a final surge.
• Delivery Cycle End: With the August contract's physical delivery process nearly complete, market focus will shift to the next active delivery month. The transition period can sometimes introduce volatility as positions are rolled forward.
• Data Lag: The most recent COT data is as of August 21. The quiet physical market on August 24-25 could be an early signal of a shift in market dynamics not yet reflected in the positioning data.