Gold Physical Market Brief: 2026-09-15

Executive summary

Physical delivery intentions for the September GC contract saw a notable increase today, with 150 new contracts issued and stopped. This brings the month-to-date total to 3,020 contracts, showing consistent, albeit modest, demand for physical metal in this non-major delivery month. The latest Commitments of Traders data shows Managed Money holds a significant net long position, suggesting a bullish speculative stance that aligns with the steady demand for physical settlement.

Delivery intentions

Demand for physical delivery picked up on September 15th, with market participants issuing and stopping another 150 contracts for the SEPTEMBER 2026 contract month.

• Today's Activity (Sep 15): 150 contracts issued and 150 stopped.
• Month-to-Date (MTD) Total: The cumulative delivery total for September now stands at 3,020 contracts.
• Recent Trend: Today's volume is more than double the 70 contracts from the prior session (Sep 14) and marks the second-highest daily total so far this month, after the 162 contracts seen on September 8th. The consistent daily flow indicates a persistent interest in taking physical delivery against the September futures contract.

For more detail, see the full delivery report.

Warehouse stocks

CME Group does not publish daily warehouse-level stock reports for its COMEX Gold futures contracts. Therefore, direct analysis of registered or eligible stockpile movements is not possible from this data feed.

COT cross-check

The latest Commitments of Traders (COT) data as of September 11, 2026, provides a useful cross-check against the physical market activity.

• Managed Money (Speculators): This group held a significant net long position, with 145,804 long contracts versus only 10,832 short contracts.
• Producers/Merchants (Commercials): As is typical for hedgers, this category held a net short position of 47,549 contracts against 16,588 long contracts.

The strong net long positioning by speculators is directionally consistent with the steady demand for physical delivery observed this month. While the 3,020 contracts delivered MTD is not exceptionally high for Gold, the persistence of deliveries aligns with the underlying bullish sentiment expressed in the futures positioning data.

Risks and watchpoints

• Pace of September Deliveries: Watch if the daily pace of deliveries continues through the remainder of the contract month. A sudden acceleration could signal strengthening physical demand.
• Positioning vs. Physical Flow: The large speculative net long position is a key feature of the market. A key watchpoint is whether this positioning continues to translate into physical delivery demand or if it will be rolled or liquidated as the next active contract month approaches.
• Comparison to Prior Months: The current September MTD total of 3,020 contracts is significantly smaller than the final totals for the major August contract, which saw over 20,000 contracts delivered. This is typical for an off-cycle month, but any unusual deviation could be significant.