Silver Market Snapshot Report
Date: March 18, 2026
Focus: COMEX silver vaults, delivery activity, and what it means for physical stackers
Silver was hit hard on screen, with price falling to around $70.56, down roughly 6.37% intraday on the chart shown. But underneath that paper weakness, the physical side tells a more important story:
COMEX registered silver was unchanged
Eligible silver fell by 2,817,057.88 oz
Total COMEX silver stocks fell by 2,817,057.88 oz
The biggest visible drawdowns came from JP Morgan and StoneX
March silver deliveries remain substantial relative to current registered stocks
Bottom line:
This does not look like abundance.
It looks like paper pressure on price while physical metal continues leaving the system.
1) COMEX silver vault data
Daily vault change
From the CME metal depository statistics shown:
Total Registered: 78,903,367.869 oz
Total Eligible: 256,172,267.235 oz
Combined Total: 335,075,635.104 oz
Daily change:
Registered: no change
Eligible: -2,817,057.88 oz
Combined total: -2,817,057.88 oz
That is the key signal of the day.
Why that matters
Registered metal is the category most directly associated with metal available to meet futures delivery obligations. Eligible metal is still in the system, but it is not automatically for sale or deliverable unless its owner chooses to convert it.
So when:
registered stays flat
while eligible keeps leaving
…it suggests that silver is not rushing into the “ready-to-deliver” pool. In other words, the exchange is not becoming more comfortable from a physical standpoint.
2) Where the silver left from
The major visible withdrawals in the report came from:
JP Morgan Chase Bank NA
Eligible withdrawal: 1,611,910.200 oz
No registered increase to offset that outflow
StoneX Precious Metals LLC
Eligible withdrawal: 1,185,217.240 oz
Again, no registered increase to offset it
HSBC
Smaller eligible withdrawal:
19,930.440 oz
Interpretation
This is important because the draw was concentrated in large, known depositories rather than being just random tiny movements. That makes the outflow more meaningful.
3) Delivery data: still significant
From the daily delivery notices shown:
March 2026 COMEX 5000 Silver Futures
Today’s total: 241 contracts
Month-to-date: 8,543 contracts
Since each standard silver contract = 5,000 oz:
MTD standard silver delivery notices = 42,715,000 oz
March 2026 Micro Silver Futures
Today’s total: 215 contracts
Month-to-date: 215 contracts
Each micro silver contract = 1,000 oz:
MTD micro silver delivery notices = 215,000 oz
Total silver deliveries month-to-date
42,715,000 oz + 215,000 oz = 42,930,000 oz
That is a very large number when compared to current registered stocks.
4) Delivery pressure vs registered stocks
Current registered silver:
78,903,367.869 oz
Month-to-date deliveries:
42,930,000 oz
That means March deliveries so far equal roughly:
54.4% of total registered silver
That does not mean all registered silver is gone or unavailable.
But it does show that delivery activity is still large relative to the size of the registered category.
Why stackers should care
When a large portion of registered stock is being matched by ongoing delivery activity, while eligible metal is also leaving the system, that is not a relaxed physical setup.
It suggests:
physical supply remains tight
deliverable inventory is not being meaningfully replenished
price weakness may be more about liquidation, leverage, or paper selling than improved physical availability
5) Price action vs physical reality
The trading screen shows silver down sharply, around -6.37%, despite the vault report showing another physical draw.
That divergence matters.
What the screen says:
- silver is weak
- momentum is down
-traders are selling
What the vault data says:
- metal is still leaving COMEX
- registered is not being rebuilt
- physical tightness is not disappearing
That creates a familiar disconnect:
paper price weakness does not automatically equal physical abundance
For stackers, that distinction is everything.
6) What this means for physical stackers
1. A price dip does not invalidate the physical thesis
If silver falls on screen while physical ounces continue to leave exchange vaults, the dip may reflect:
- margin stress
- paper liquidation
- short-term risk-off selling
- macro panic
—not necessarily a healthier physical market.
2. Flat registered is not comforting
If the exchange were getting more comfortable, you would expect at least some visible strengthening in registered stocks.
Instead:
registered stayed flat
eligible fell hard
That is not a sign of easy supply.
3. Physical remains the real signal
Paper markets can reprice instantly.
But once real ounces leave the vault, that is a different kind of signal.
For long-term stackers, that matters more than intraday volatility.
4. This is not proof of imminent default
Important nuance:
eligible silver is privately owned
withdrawals do not automatically mean crisis
one daily report alone does not prove a breaking point
But repeated eligible drawdowns, combined with flat registered and strong delivery demand, do support the broader case that the physical market remains under pressure.
7) Bullish take vs cautious take
Bullish interpretation
Silver price got hit, but physical continued leaving the exchange
Registered did not improve
Deliveries remain large
This supports the view that physical silver is still being absorbed despite paper volatility
Cautious interpretation
One day does not define the whole trend
Registered did not fall today
The market can remain volatile much longer than stackers expect
COMEX can continue functioning even with persistent tightness
Best synthesis
This is not a clean bearish signal for physical silver.
It is better described as:
paper weakness overlaying persistent physical tightness
8) What stackers should watch next
The most important things to monitor from here:
A) Registered stocks
If registered starts falling meaningfully, that would be more serious than eligible-only outflows.
B) Continued eligible withdrawals
If multi-million-ounce eligible outflows keep repeating, that strengthens the tightening narrative.
C) Delivery pace
If March continues to build from already large month-to-date numbers, pressure remains real.
D) Any registered replenishment
If eligible gets converted into registered in size, that would ease some concern.
E) Premiums and physical market behavior outside COMEX
COMEX is only one part of the story. Real stress often shows up through:
dealer premiums
delays
wholesale bar tightness
regional dislocations
For stackers, the main takeaway is simple:
Silver got smashed on the screen.
But the vault data does not show a flood of metal returning to the system.
Instead, it shows:
2.817 million oz leaving eligible
registered unchanged
42.93 million oz delivered month-to-date
deliveries equal to about 54.4% of registered stock
That is not the profile of a market swimming in easy physical supply.
Final line:
The paper market is showing fear.
The physical market is still showing drain.
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