Silver Physical Market Brief: 2026-09-17

Executive summary

Physical delivery activity for the September Silver contract continues at a steady pace, with 120 contracts posted for delivery. This brings the month-to-date total to a robust 6,115 contracts, indicating consistent demand for physical metal through the futures market. The most recent CFTC data shows that Managed Money holds a significant net long position. This speculative bullishness is currently aligned with the strong physical offtake seen in the delivery data, showing convergence rather than a market divergence.

Delivery intentions (today + MTD context)

On September 17, a total of 120 delivery intentions were issued and stopped on COMEX.

• Today's Activity:
  • September 2026 COMEX 5000 Silver Futures (SI): 110 contracts
  • September 2026 Micro Silver Futures: 10 contracts
• Month-to-Date (MTD) Context:
  • The total number of contracts delivered so far in September stands at 6,115.
  • Today's volume is comparable to yesterday's 126 contracts but is a moderation from the 551 contracts posted on September 15. The steady accumulation throughout the month points to persistent physical demand.

Warehouse stocks

CME does not publish consolidated, daily warehouse stock levels for COMEX Silver in this data feed. For more detail, please see the Warehouse and Delivery Stream.

COT cross-check

The latest Commitment of Traders (COT) data with a reporting date of September 11, 2026, provides a positioning snapshot:

• Managed Money (Speculators): Held a net long position of 14,386 contracts (21,148 long vs. 6,762 short).
• Producers/Merchants (Commercials): Held a large net short position of 17,517 contracts, typical for hedging activity.

The bullish stance from speculators appears directionally consistent with the strong physical demand evidenced by the 6,115 contracts delivered so far this month.

Risks and watchpoints

• Pace of Delivery: The key physical market indicator remains the daily delivery volume for the remainder of the September contract. A significant acceleration or drop-off could signal a shift in near-term physical tightness.
• Position Rolling: As the September delivery cycle winds down, market participants will be watching open interest trends to gauge how positions are rolled into the active December contract.
• Speculative vs. Physical Alignment: The current alignment between speculative length and physical demand is a point of stability. A divergence, such as a speculative sell-off while physical deliveries remain high, would be a critical signal to monitor.