Let’s say you were a country or a group of very wealthy individuals and Covid hits. You see governments around the world print money like crazy. It makes you think there might be some inflation to deal with and you want to protect yourself. Gold and silver are the logical choices. So, if you decide to accumulate a whole bunch of precious metals, how would you do it?
Physical metal has continued to drain from COMEX vaults. This is particularly true for silver, which now has 17.4 paper ounces for every registered ounce.
This analysis focuses on gold and silver within the Comex/CME futures exchange. See the article What is the Comex? for more detail. The charts and tables below specifically analyze the physical stock/inventory data at the Comex to show the physical movement of metal into and out of Comex vaults.
I typically start this analysis with gold, but the action in the platinum market is impossible to ignore. The next four charts should tell you everything you need to know.
First, similar to gold and silver, platinum has seen a much higher delivery volume since the pandemic struck in 2020.
September gold has been a very strong delivery month with 8,573 contracts being delivered plus an additional 718 in open interest that will be delivered over the next week (9,219 total). It is currently still below the July month but could exceed the total by the time the month completes due to mid-month activity.
This analysis focuses on gold and silver within the Comex/CME futures exchange. See the article What is the Comex? for more detail. The charts and tables below specifically analyze the physical stock/inventory data at the Comex to show the physical movement of metal into and out of Comex vaults.
As we round out August in the COMEX, gold delivery was strong and silver was dominated by the odd mechanizations of Bank of America.
Gold saw the largest delivery volume in 2022 with 33,593 contracts delivered so far and 244 remaining in open interest. Since 2020, only December and February last year recorded larger volumes.
Over the last several months, you may have noticed a new series of articles with a data-driven focus here at SchiffGold. In this Metal Exchange interview, host Mike Maharrey talks to the man behind those posts.
Mike and Tony dig into the ins and outs of technical, data-driven analysis and how it can expand our understanding of the gold and silver markets.
Gold and silver deliveries on the Comex have surged since March 2020. While delivery volume in 2021 and 2022 are below the massive amount seen in 2020, overall volume is very elevated compared to pre-Covid levels.
Delivery volume in the July gold contract got off to the weakest start in years, but then had a major mid-month rally, turning it into one of the strongest minor months in recent history. Over the last 15 months, it only trailed the blow-out month of March. Momentum has continued in the August contract.