COMEX May Gold and Silver Contracts See Unprecedented Activity

The COMEX May gold contract has experienced extraordinary trading and delivery activity this cycle. Since first notice day, 6,712 new contracts have been written—an order of magnitude above the historical mean of 1,525 and exceeding the previous record of 4,150. Cumulative deliveries for the May gold contract have climbed to nearly 16,000 contracts, surpassing the record set by the March contract. These figures mark a notable departure from typical seasonal behavior and represent one of the most active delivery periods on the COMEX in recent memory.

This surge in activity is not evenly distributed among market participants. The bulk of the buying has been concentrated in bank house accounts and JP Morgan customer accounts, according to reporting tied to the contract. Among individual institutions, the Bank of Montreal stands out as the largest buyer, taking delivery of 658,000 ounces. Such concentrated participation by specific accounts and banks helps explain how overall delivery totals ballooned so quickly over a short period.

Silver trading for the May contract has similarly set records. Customer accounts associated with JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs have been major purchasers in silver, driving significant demand during the delivery window. At the same time, banks as a group have been net sellers to non-bank participants, unloading a combined net total of 15.8 million ounces of silver. That net sale level ranks as the third-highest net sale by banks for any single contract in COMEX history.

These developments carry several implications for market observers and participants. First, the concentration of activity in a handful of accounts and institutions suggests that balance of supply and demand during delivery can be heavily influenced by the actions of a few large players. When bank house accounts and a small number of customers dominate buying, delivery tallies can move well beyond historical norms in a compressed timeframe.

Second, the unusually high number of new contracts written since first notice day points to elevated intent to take or make delivery rather than simply roll positions to a later month. That dynamic can create transient physical demand pressures on available inventory in licensed warehouses and influence short-term pricing and basis relationships. With cumulative deliveries approaching 16,000 contracts for the May gold contract, the market is seeing a volume of physical settlement that exceeds recent precedent.

Third, the sizable net sale of silver by banks to non-banks—15.8 million ounces—highlights a meaningful transfer of physical metal from institutional holders into the broader market. Whether motivated by hedging, inventory management, client demand, or other factors, such large net flows alter the composition of metal ownership during a contract’s delivery cycle and may affect near-term liquidity and warehouse stocks.

While these outcomes are clear in the reporting, interpretation of longer-term consequences depends on follow-up data and behavior in subsequent contracts. The May contract’s record-setting numbers set a new benchmark against which future delivery cycles will be compared. Market participants will likely watch subsequent months for signs that similar concentration and elevated delivery activity are repeating or were unique to this cycle.

In summary, the COMEX May delivery period for both gold and silver has been characterized by exceptional activity: 6,712 new gold contracts written since first notice day, near 16,000 cumulative gold deliveries, and record-setting silver flows with major participation from JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs customer accounts. The Bank of Montreal emerged as the largest single buyer in gold at 658,000 ounces, and banks collectively sold a net 15.8 million ounces of silver to non-banks—the third-highest such net sale in COMEX history. These developments underscore the impact that a few large accounts and bank-related flows can have on physical settlement dynamics and short-term market structure.