The COMEX May gold contract has seen unusually high activity: 6,712 new contracts were written since first notice day, well above the long-term average of 1,525 and surpassing the previous record of 4,150. Cumulative deliveries for this series have now approached 16,000 contracts, exceeding the earlier record set by the March contract. Much of this volume appears concentrated in bank house accounts and customer accounts at JP Morgan, with the Bank of Montreal emerging as the largest purchaser in the period, acquiring approximately 658,000 ounces.
Silver’s May contract is also producing record flows. Customer accounts at JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs have been significant buyers, while aggregate activity by banks shows a net transfer of roughly 15.8 million ounces from banks to non-bank participants—one of the largest single-contract net sales by banks in COMEX history.
These unusual delivery and position patterns reflect a concentration of activity among a few large dealers and their clients. Such heavy concentration can influence short-term supply and demand dynamics in the futures market and affect nearby physical settlement volumes. Observers should note that elevated delivery figures do not necessarily reflect a sustained change in broader market fundamentals, but they can signal short-term shifts in where bullion is being held or moved.
Market participants tracking these developments should pay attention to which accounts are accumulating or distributing metal, as large transfers between bank and non-bank holders can create temporary distortions in futures spreads, warehouse inventories, and nearby cash premiums. While the headline numbers are striking compared to historical averages, understanding the drivers—dealer positioning, client flows, and motivated buyers or sellers—provides essential context for interpreting the significance of these records.
In summary, both gold and silver May contracts on COMEX have recorded exceptional delivery and buying patterns, concentrated among a handful of major banks and their customers. These dynamics have produced record-level activity for this delivery cycle and warrant attention from traders and analysts monitoring physical settlement and short-term price behavior.