Silver Rises Over 120% YTD 
The COMEX May gold contract is showing unprecedented activity, with 6,712 new contracts written since first notice day—far above the historical mean of 1,525 and previous record of 4,150. Cumulative deliveries have reached nearly 16,000 contracts, surpassing the record set by the March contract. However, this activity is primarily driven by bank house accounts and JP Morgan customer accounts, with Bank of Montreal being the largest buyer at 658,000 ounces. For silver, the May contract is also setting records with JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs customer accounts driving purchases, while banks overall have sold a net 15.8 million ounces to non-banks—the third-highest net sale by banks for a specific contract in history.
Articles
Why Central Banks Sell Gold — And What It Means for Prices
Central banks bought 863 tonnes of gold in 2025. Yet Russia, Turkey, and others are selling. Here’s what drives official-sector gold sales — and what the history of central bank selling tells long-term investors about price risk.
May 7, 2026
