Silver Physical Market Brief: 2026-09-16

Executive summary

Physical delivery demand for the September Silver contract (SI) continues to be robust, with the month-to-date total now exceeding 6,000 contracts. While today's delivery volume of 126 contracts is a marked decrease from the prior session's 551, the overall trend for the month points to significant physical settlement activity. This strong physical offtake is consistent with the latest Commitments of Traders (COT) data, which shows Managed Money maintaining a significant net long position. The key dynamic to watch is whether this strong demand for physical metal persists through the remainder of the delivery period.

Delivery intentions (today + MTD context)

For September 16, a total of 126 contracts were issued for delivery against the September futures contracts.

• Today's Intentions:
  • SEPTEMBER 2026 COMEX 5000 SILVER FUTURES: 26 contracts
  • SEPTEMBER 2026 MICRO SILVER FUTURES: 100 contracts
• Month-to-Date (MTD) Context:
  • The total for the September delivery month now stands at 6,005 contracts.
  • Today's volume of 126 contracts represents a significant slowdown from the 551 contracts seen in the previous session (September 15).
  • Despite the daily slowdown, the MTD total reflects consistently strong demand for physical settlement throughout the month, which began with over 1,000 contracts tendered in the first two days of September.

For more detail, see the full delivery and warehouse data.

Warehouse stocks

CME does not publish consolidated COMEX warehouse stock levels for Silver in this data feed.

COT cross-check

The latest Commitments of Traders data (as of September 11, 2026) provides a useful cross-check against the physical market action.

• Managed Money: Speculative funds held a net long position of +14,386 contracts (21,148 long vs. 6,762 short).
• Producer/Merchant (Commercials): Commercial participants held a large net short position of -17,517 contracts (4,616 long vs. 22,133 short).

The strong physical delivery demand, with over 6,000 contracts delivered month-to-date, aligns with the significant net long positioning from the Managed Money category. This suggests that speculative bullishness is, at least in part, being translated into demand for physical metal, rather than a positioning-vs-physical divergence.

Risks and watchpoints

• Pace of Deliveries: The sharp drop in daily delivery notices from 551 to 126 is a key watchpoint. It will be important to see if this is a one-day lull or the start of a tapering off as the September delivery cycle matures.
• Speculative Positioning: The alignment between net long speculative positioning and strong physical demand is currently a bullish confirmation. A sharp reversal in the Managed Money net position in the next COT report could signal a divergence and potential headwind for price.
• Commercial Shorts: The large commercial net short position is typical for producers hedging their supply. However, any unusual activity or a significant reduction in this short position could indicate a shift in their view of forward supply and demand dynamics.