COMEX Silver Physical Market Brief: 2026-07-30

Executive summary

A significant surge in delivery intentions marked today's session, driven by the start of the August 2026 delivery cycle. Over 1,300 new contracts were issued for August, a stark contrast to the quiet, end-of-month activity seen for the expiring July contract in recent days. This strong start to the new delivery month suggests robust demand for physical settlement. As of the latest COT report (July 24), speculative funds held a net long position, which now appears to be validated by this fresh wave of physical delivery demand.

Delivery intentions (today + MTD context)

Delivery activity exploded today with the August contract becoming the new front month.

• Total Today: 1,393 contracts were issued and stopped, a dramatic increase from the 12 contracts issued on the prior reporting day (July 28).
• August Contract (New Front-Month): The vast majority of today's activity was for the new August 2026 contracts:
  • COMEX 5000 Silver Futures: 696 contracts issued.
  • Micro Silver Futures: 685 contracts issued.
• July Contract (Expiring): Activity for the expiring July contract has dwindled to a trickle, with just 12 contracts issued today (4 standard, 8 micro).
• Month-to-Date (MTD) Context: The total MTD delivery for the primary July 2026 contract now stands at 9,175 contracts. Today's August volume represents a strong opening for the new delivery cycle.

Warehouse stocks

CME does not publish consolidated, daily public warehouse stock reports for COMEX Silver. Therefore, tracking daily inventory flows in the same manner as other exchange-traded metals is not possible with this data.

COT cross-check

This cross-check uses positioning data as of July 24, 2026, which precedes the latest physical delivery data.

• Managed Money (Speculators): As of July 24, speculators held a net long position of 11,282 contracts (18,204 long vs. 6,922 short).
• Producer/Merchant (Commercials): Commercials held a corresponding net short position of 13,044 contracts (5,623 long vs. 18,667 short).
• Divergence Analysis: The net long positioning from speculators as of last week indicated a bullish paper sentiment. At that time, physical delivery for the July contract was slowing down. Today's massive influx of delivery intentions for the new August contract suggests that demand for physical metal is now accelerating, aligning with and potentially strengthening the bullish case previously seen only in the paper market.

Risks and watchpoints

• Sustained August Delivery: The key watchpoint is whether this high level of delivery demand for the August contract persists over the next several sessions. A continued high volume would be a strong signal of physical market tightness.
• COT Data Lag: The available COT data is nearly a week old. The next report will be crucial to determine if speculators increased their net long position into this delivery cycle or if commercials were forced to cover shorts by standing for delivery.
• Open Interest: Total open interest stood at 106,410 contracts as of July 24. Monitoring how this figure changes in conjunction with delivery volume can provide clues about whether new physical demand is entering the market or if it's primarily existing positions being rolled or settled.