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Silver COT — Week of September 25, 2026

Silver (SI) COT Positioning Brief — Reporting Week Ending September 25, 2026

Executive summary

For the reporting week ending September 25, 2026, managed money accounts in COMEX Silver (SI) slightly increased their net long position by 185 contracts to +13,309 contracts, driven primarily by short covering rather than fresh accumulation. Total open interest rose by 2,729 contracts (+2.63%) to 106,474 contracts.

Commercial entities expanded their aggregate net short positioning, led by swap dealers adding short hedges and producer/merchants shedding longs. Non-reportable (retail/small trader) positioning experienced the largest absolute buying wave of the week, adding 2,644 long contracts to push their net long stance to +19,310 contracts. Against this positioning backdrop, front-month silver futures closed at $64.00/troy oz, easing from $66.94 the previous week and consolidating within a multi-month recovery range following mid-year lows.

Positioning (net, extremes vs recent weeks)

Category Long Positions Short Positions Spreading Net Position % of Open Interest (L / S)
Managed Money 19,303 5,994 8,141 +13,309 18.1% / 5.6%
Swap Dealers 22,745 48,987 4,384 -26,242 21.4% / 46.0%
Producer/Merchant 4,047 22,559 — -18,512 3.8% / 21.2%
Other Reportables 15,398 3,263 4,726 +12,135 14.5% / 3.1%
Nonreportables 27,730 8,420 — +19,310 26.0% / 7.9%

Historical Context & Extremes

  • Managed Money Net Long (+13,309 contracts): Sits in the middle of its 2026 range. While substantially lower than the peak net long of +21,887 contracts recorded on December 23, 2025 (36,424 longs vs. 14,537 shorts), positioning remains well above the February 2026 troughs of +4,569 contracts (12,222 longs vs. 7,653 shorts).
  • Managed Money Gross Shorts (5,994 contracts): Remain compressed near the lower end of the annual range (which reached an extreme high of 15,092 in January 2026 and a low of 2,975 in March 2026).
  • Commercial Net Short (-44,754 contracts combined): Swap dealers and producers continue to run heavy structural short positions, matching typical patterns during price consolidation phases.

Flows and week-over-week changes

  • Managed Money: Net change of +185 contracts.
    • Gross Longs: -902 contracts (long liquidation)
    • Gross Shorts: -1,087 contracts (short covering)
    • Spreading: +1,295 contracts (spread reallocation)
  • Swap Dealers: Net change of -896 contracts.
    • Gross Longs: +9 contracts
    • Gross Shorts: +905 contracts
    • Spreading: +5 contracts
  • Producer/Merchant: Net change of -1,158 contracts.
    • Gross Longs: -665 contracts
    • Gross Shorts: +493 contracts
  • Other Reportables: Net change of -67 contracts.
    • Gross Longs: +208 contracts
    • Gross Shorts: +275 contracts
    • Spreading: +135 contracts
  • Nonreportable (Retail): Net change of +1,936 contracts.
    • Gross Longs: +2,644 contracts
    • Gross Shorts: +708 contracts

Commercials vs speculators

  • Speculative Profile: Managed money participants de-risked on both sides of the book (trimming 902 longs and 1,087 shorts), while expanding spreading exposure to 8,141 contracts. Total managed money trader count shifted slightly from 39 longs / 14 shorts last week to 39 longs / 12 shorts.
  • Commercial Hedging Overhead: Swap dealers represent 46.0% of total gross short open interest (48,987 contracts), while producer/merchants account for 21.2% (22,559 contracts). Commercial short interest continues to provide persistent supply into market strength.
  • Concentration Profile:
    • Top 4 Traders: 14.1% Net Long / 30.8% Net Short (14.3% Gross Long / 33.8% Gross Short)
    • Top 8 Traders: 22.7% Net Long / 45.7% Net Short (23.4% Gross Long / 49.6% Gross Short)
    • Concentration on the short side remains prominent, with the 8 largest traders holding nearly half of the total market short exposure.

Open interest and participation

  • Total Open Interest: Stood at 106,474 contracts, up 2,729 contracts WoW.
  • Historical Participation Trend: Total open interest has stabilized between 100,000 and 115,000 contracts over the past several months, having fallen from a peak of 157,391 contracts in January 2026.
  • Trader Breadth: Total reporting traders decreased by 3 to 157 traders (down from 240 in late December 2025 and 216 in January 2026).

Price context

  • Reporting Date Close: Front-month Silver settled at $64.00/oz on September 25, 2026.
  • Prior Trend:
    • Silver experienced an explosive run to $121.785/oz on January 29, 2026, followed by an aggressive correction that bottomed at $55.765/oz on July 16, 2026.
    • A subsequent rebound lifted prices to a secondary peak of $69.22/oz on August 27, 2026.
    • Over the recent reporting period, prices softened from $66.94/oz (September 18) through $63.635/oz (September 24) before settling at $64.00/oz on the report date.

Risks and watchpoints

  • De-Risking Speeds vs Fresh Conviction: The reduction in both gross long and gross short managed money positions indicates that the modest net increase (+185) was mechanical rather than a resumption of aggressive trend-following buying.
  • Nonreportable Long Imbalance: Nonreportable traders hold 27,730 long contracts (26.0% of total OI) against only 8,420 short contracts (7.9% of total OI). An oversized retail long overhang presents liquidation risk if support near recent lows (~$63.00–$64.00) gives way.
  • Commercial Absorption: Swap dealer and producer short positioning remains firm near ~71,500 combined contracts. Without an influx of fresh institutional speculative buying to drive open interest back toward early-2026 levels, commercial selling may cap upside momentum.