COMEX

The COMEX (Commodity Exchange) is a division of the CME Group and is the world's most important futures exchange for precious metals. Gold, silver, copper, and platinum futures traded on COMEX set the benchmark spot prices that every bullion dealer worldwide uses to price physical metal.

How COMEX Works

COMEX trades standardized futures contracts — agreements to buy or sell a fixed quantity of metal at a set price on a future date. The most actively traded contracts are:

• Gold (GC): 100 troy oz per contract
• Silver (SI): 5,000 troy oz per contract
• Copper (HG): 25,000 lbs per contract
• Platinum (PL): 50 troy oz per contract

Only a small fraction of COMEX contracts result in physical delivery — the vast majority are cash-settled by traders who never intend to take possession of metal.

COMEX Warehouse Stocks

COMEX publishes daily reports of registered (deliverable) and eligible (stored but not deliverable) gold and silver in its approved warehouses. Analysts watch warehouse stock levels as an indicator of physical market tightness. Significant drawdowns in registered inventory can precede upward pressure on physical premiums.

COMEX vs. Physical Gold

Critics argue that the paper gold market — where traders can control far more gold in contracts than physically exists in COMEX warehouses — allows institutional traders to influence spot prices in ways that don't reflect true physical supply and demand.

The LBMA and COMEX Together

COMEX sets North American benchmark prices, while the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) publishes official AM and PM fixes used for large institutional physical settlements. Together, COMEX and the LBMA constitute the core of global precious metals price discovery.