Silver Physical Market Brief: 2026-08-19

Executive summary

Physical delivery intentions for the August Silver (SI) contract continue to slow as the delivery month progresses. Today saw only 11 new notices, a significant drop from the 52 and 86 contracts reported on the previous two days. This brings the month-to-date total to a respectable 1,617 contracts. Speculative positioning, as of the latest COT report, remains net long, aligning with the general demand for physical settlement seen this month, although the lack of warehouse data remains a key blind spot.

Delivery intentions

Delivery activity for the August 2026 COMEX 5000 SI contract has tapered off, a typical pattern for a contract deep into its delivery period.

• Today's Activity: 11 contracts were issued and stopped for delivery on August 21.
• Month-to-Date (MTD): The total for the August contract now stands at 1,617 contracts.
• Recent Trend: Today's volume is down sharply from the 52 contracts on August 18 and 86 contracts on August 17, indicating that the bulk of the delivery activity for this contract month has likely already occurred.

Warehouse stocks

CME Group does not publish consolidated public warehouse stock levels for COMEX Silver through this data feed. A complete analysis of registered and eligible stockpiles is not possible from the provided data.

COT cross-check

The latest Commitments of Traders (COT) data, for the week ending August 14, 2026, provides a check against the physical market flows.

• Managed Money (Speculators): This group held a net long position of 11,158 contracts (19,956 long vs. 8,798 short).
• Producers/Merchants (Commercials): This cohort held a net short position of -15,946 contracts (5,452 long vs. 21,398 short), typical for producers hedging their future output.

The net long positioning from speculators is consistent with the ongoing, albeit slowing, demand for physical delivery. There is no significant divergence between speculative sentiment and physical market activity at this time.

Risks and watchpoints

• End-of-Month Activity: Watch for any unusual late-month delivery notices. A sudden increase in volume could signal unexpected physical tightness.
• Positioning vs. Price: A key risk would be a sharp increase in the Managed Money net long position without a corresponding price increase or acceleration in physical offtake, which could suggest an over-extended speculative market.
• Data Gaps: The absence of warehouse stock data remains a significant limitation. Any private or alternative data sources showing large inventory movements would be critical to monitor.