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COMEX Silver OI Plunges Below 105K As Traders Walk Away From The Casino!

Silver bars stacked beside a roulette wheel under a falling red arrow and 'COMEX SILVER OI PLUNGES BELOW 105K' headline

COMEX Silver Open Interest PLUNGED below 105,000 contracts Monday- a HISTORICALLY low OI level not seen in DECADES!

Bar and line chart of silver futures volume and open interest; April 27 shows volume 72,805, open interest 104,688.

We anticipated that Open Interest in the May silver contract would decline significantly this week, ahead of the expiration of the May26 contract which goes off the board tomorrow. 
That certainly began in full force yesterday, as OI in the May26 contract declined -8,764 yesterday, to close at 17,984.  

What is shocking however, is that the majority of those contracts DID NOT roll to either of the next 2 Front Months (July + Sept) - as the July contract saw an increase of only +2,628, and the Sept contract only added +459 for a net 3,087 contracts.  

This means that ONLY 35% OF THOSE CLOSING OUT MAY26 SILVER CONTRACTS ROLLED FORWARD! 

65% SIMPLY WALKED AWAY FROM THE COMEX CASINO!!!

Preliminary futures data table showing April 27, 2026 open interest at 104,688, down 5,696, with May contract down 8,764

The massive decline in COMEX Silver Open Interest comes amidst the continued decline in physical silver inventories backing COMEX silver contracts, with Registered Silver Inventories down to 76 million oz, and TOTAL COMEX Silver Inventories down to 315 million oz.  

Meanwhile, China has been rapidly stockpiling silver over the past 2 months, after combined silver inventories at the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange bottomed out near zero in the wake of the historic China silver squeeze which drove silver prices in Shanghai nearly to $150/oz in late January.   SGE and SHFE silver inventories have more than DOUBLED off their lows, now back above a combined 40 million oz.  

Expect China to continue grabbing as much physical silver as they can get their hands on while inventory remains relatively plentiful.  

Meanwhile, after the CME shut down the silver market when it was breaking out in November for a  “cooling issue”, and then again in February as silver was again breaking out over $94 for a “system issue”, gamblers are deciding to simply WALK AWAY FROM THE COMEX CASINO in droves. 

SILVER TO $350-$500?  MICHAEL OLIVER’S NOT BULLISH ENOUGH!
INVESTMENT DEMAND WILL DRIVE SILVER TO 4 FIGURES & INTO A MANIA!!

Disclosure

The SilverTrade Insider publishes market news and interviews with named analysts. Opinions expressed by contributors and interviewees are their own, and they may hold positions in the metals, miners or securities they discuss. Nothing here is investment advice.

SilverTrade is affiliated with SD Bullion, a precious-metals retailer, and SD Depository, a precious-metals storage company. Some contributors hold roles at affiliated companies. See our Editorial Policy.

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