Silver Physical Market Brief: October 12, 2026

Executive summary

Physical delivery activity in COMEX Silver (SI) ground to a virtual standstill on October 12, 2026, with only 4 contracts issued and stopped at a settlement price of $60.141 USD/oz. This follows a single delivery notice (1 contract) on October 9, establishing a sharp deceleration after the active mid-month surge seen on October 7–8, when 688 contracts were delivered over two sessions.

Month-to-date (MTD) cumulative deliveries for October now stand at 3,130 contracts (equivalent to 15.65 million troy ounces for the 5,000-oz contract). With physical delivery momentum tapering off and COMEX warehouse stock figures not published in this feed, the paper-to-physical landscape shows speculative participants maintaining a moderate net long position (+7,528 contracts) while producers remain heavily short-hedged against total open interest of 105,130 contracts.

Delivery intentions (today + MTD context)

• Daily Notices (October 12, 2026): 4 contracts were issued and stopped for the October 2026 COMEX 5000 Silver Futures contract. Settlement was fixed at $60.141 USD/oz, with intent date of October 12 and delivery scheduled for October 14, 2026.
• MTD Volume & Run-Rate: Cumulative deliveries reached 3,130 contracts.
• Recent Trend & Trajectory:
  • Delivery flow has collapsed to single digits over the last two sessions (1 contract on Oct 9; 4 contracts on Oct 12).
  • This marks an abrupt pause following the high-volume burst on October 7 (330 contracts at $59.899) and October 8 (358 contracts at $59.064).
  • Buyers showed strong appetite to take delivery when prices settled below $60.00 earlier in the month, but demand to stop contracts has cooled as the settlement rebounded back above the $60.14–$60.67 range.
  • In contrast to early October—which recorded minor micro-silver delivery activity (5 micro contracts delivered on Oct 1)—the last several delivery windows have consisted entirely of the benchmark 5,000-oz contract.

Warehouse stocks

CME does not publish COMEX warehouse stock figures (eligible vs. registered vault inventories) within this data feed. Consequently, physical stock movements into or out of exchange-approved depositories cannot be verified for this reporting date.

COT cross-check

The latest CFTC Commitments of Traders data (as of October 9, 2026) shows: * Total Open Interest: 105,130 contracts. * Managed Money: 16,457 longs vs. 8,929 shorts (net long 7,528 contracts). * Producer/Merchant: 4,411 longs vs. 20,664 shorts (net short 16,253 contracts).

Physical vs. Positioning Divergence: Managed Money holds an outright net long stance, yet their position remains relatively measured compared to overall open interest. The sudden collapse in daily physical deliveries (from over 300 contracts daily down to 1–4 contracts) suggests that commercial short positioning is primarily functioning as traditional price hedging rather than aggressive physical surrender. Speculative positioning is not currently facing physical tightness on the delivery front, as immediate off-take demand appears satisfied following the early-October intake of over 3,100 contracts.

Risks and watchpoints

• Delivery Fatigue vs. Mid-Month Rebound: Monitor whether the drop to single-digit delivery intentions indicates that commercial physical requirements for the October cycle are complete, or if a secondary delivery wave emerges before contract expiration.
• Price Threshold Sensitivity: Track buyer stopping behavior around the $60.00 psychological level. October data indicates high physical off-take when settlements traded below $60.00 (Oct 7–8), which vanished once prices settled back at $60.14–$60.67.
• Open Interest Concentration: With total open interest at 105,130 contracts against an October delivery total of 3,130 contracts, price action remains overwhelmingly driven by financial rolls rather than physical squeeze dynamics.