Gold Warehouse & Delivery Report: September 18, 2026

Gold Physical Market Brief — September 18, 2026

Delivery pace accelerating: Daily delivery notices for COMEX Gold (GC) reached 303 contracts on September 18, 2026, marking the fourth consecutive session of rising delivery intentions and bringing month-to-date (MTD) deliveries to 3,527 contracts.
Firm price realization: The September 2026 contract settled at $4,385.90 USD as physical standing demand expanded into the latter half of the month.
Positioning alignment: The physical delivery pickup aligns with strong speculative backing; Managed Money holds a substantial net-long position of 133,116 contracts, showing no immediate divergence between paper sentiment and physical absorption.

Physical delivery activity on the COMEX platform showed a noticeable late-month acceleration for the September 2026 contract cycle:

Daily issuance & stops (September 18, 2026): 303 contracts (30,300 troy oz) were issued and stopped for the SEPTEMBER 2026 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES contract at a settlement price of $4,385.90 USD, with delivery scheduled for September 22, 2026.
Month-to-date total: Cumulative September deliveries stand at 3,527 contracts.
Pace and trend context:
- Physical demand has surged over the past four active sessions: 70 contracts (Sep 14), 150 contracts (Sep 15), 204 contracts (Sep 16), and 303 contracts (Sep 18).
- This late-month wave follows an initial First Notice Day spike on September 1 (429 contracts) and a quiet mid-month lull where daily notices dipped as low as 3 contracts (Sep 9) and 8 contracts (Sep 10).
- While lower than the major August delivery cycle (which exceeded 20,000 contracts), delivery demand for the September intermediate cycle remains persistent.

CME does not publish warehouse stocks for this metal in the provided feed. Physical inventory flows (registered vs. eligible stock changes) are therefore unobserved in this reporting period.

A comparison of positioning against physical delivery flows reveals strong alignment between speculative appetite and physical uptake:

Managed Money: Holds 142,394 long positions against just 9,278 short positions, reflecting a heavy net long of 133,116 contracts (a long-to-short ratio exceeding 15:1).
Commercials (Producer/Merchant): Maintain a net-short posture of -28,061 contracts (16,396 longs vs. 44,457 shorts).
Total Open Interest: Sits at 409,899 contracts.
Divergence Assessment: Speculative positioning remains heavily bullish without signs of an immediate physical buyer strike. The late-month increase in physical delivery requests at prices approaching $4,400 suggests that physical buyers are willing to take delivery at prevailing elevated price levels.

Speculative positioning overhang: With Managed Money longs outnumbering shorts by more than 15 to 1, any sudden shift in broader macro sentiment could trigger long liquidation regardless of physical demand.
Delivery cycle roll-off: As the September contract nears full expiration, watch whether the delivery momentum sustains or abruptly tapers off.
Lack of warehouse inventory data: In the absence of published COMEX depository stock data, monitor off-exchange physical premiums to confirm whether physical tightness or adequate stock availability is driving late-month deliveries.