Platinum Physical Market Brief: October 13, 2026

Executive summary

Physical delivery activity for NYMEX Platinum futures slowed to a near-complete standstill on October 13, 2026, with just 1 contract issued and stopped. This brings total month-to-date (MTD) deliveries for the October 2026 contract cycle to 256 contracts. Delivery volumes remain heavily front-loaded from the end of September, with daily physical demand tapering sharply into mid-month alongside softening settlement prices ($1,657.40/oz). While speculative positioning remains net long, the immediate appetite for exchange-based physical delivery has cooled.

Delivery intentions (today + MTD context)

• Current session (October 13, 2026):
  • Total issued: 1 contract
  • Total stopped: 1 contract
  • Delivery date: October 15, 2026
  • Settlement price: $1,657.40 USD
  • Contract: October 2026 Platinum Futures (NYMEX)
• Cumulative physical cycle:
  • Month-to-date deliveries stand at 256 contracts.
• Trend context:
  • Delivery intentions peaked sharply at the start of the delivery cycle, dominated by 133 contracts on September 29 and 109 contracts on September 30 (settling at $1,680.10 and $1,702.30, respectively).
  • Subsequent October sessions recorded single-digit turnover: 5 contracts on October 1 and 8 contracts on October 5 (settling around $1,705.50–$1,706.90).
  • Today's single delivery confirms that the primary wave of physical delivery completions has concluded, accompanied by a drop in settlement price to $1,657.40.

Warehouse stocks

CME/NYMEX does not publish warehouse stock figures for this metal in the current data feed (warehouse_stocks is null). As a result, changes in registered and eligible depository inventories cannot be verified against current delivery activity.

COT cross-check

According to the CFTC Commitments of Traders (COT) report as of October 9, 2026: * Open Interest: 65,868 contracts * Managed Money: 19,491 longs vs. 11,016 shorts (net long +8,475 contracts) * Producer/Merchant: 3,103 longs vs. 12,587 shorts (net short -9,484 contracts)

Divergence analysis: Speculative participants retain an overall net long bias (+8,475 contracts), while commercials hold standard hedging short positions. However, physical demand through the exchange mechanism has flattened to minimal increments (1 notice today), and settlement values have retreated by nearly $50/oz from the early-October highs of $1,706.90. This suggests that despite steady speculative net long exposure, immediate spot physical off-take is not driving marginal upward momentum at current price levels.

Risks and watchpoints

• Speculative liquidation risk: With the October physical delivery surge now largely exhausted (256 MTD total) and price slipping below $1,660, speculative longs may reduce net exposure if broader industrial demand cues fail to materialize.
• Lack of warehouse inventory transparency: Without active warehouse stock reporting, sudden physical tightness cannot be tracked via depository drawdowns, placing greater importance on daily intent notices.
• Roll and delivery concentration: Watch whether secondary delivery waves emerge before the October contract expires, or whether open positions roll smoothly into deferred active contract months.