COMEX (Commodity Exchange) is the primary futures exchange for silver and gold trading in the United States. It is a division of the CME Group (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) and operates the contracts that effectively set silver’s spot price globally.
A standard COMEX silver futures contract represents 5,000 troy ounces of silver — about 155 kilograms. Futures contracts are agreements to buy or sell silver at a set price on a set future date. They allow producers to lock in prices and investors to speculate on price movements without taking physical delivery.
The vast majority of COMEX silver contracts are settled in cash, not physical silver. Fewer than 1–2% of contracts result in actual metal delivery. This “paper silver” dynamic — where enormous notional volumes of silver trade daily with minimal physical movement — is a frequent topic of discussion (and concern) among silver investors.
COMEX sets margin requirements and position limits, which can be adjusted during periods of extreme market stress. The most famous example: in 1980, COMEX introduced “Silver Rule 7” restricting new long positions during the Hunt Brothers’ attempted corner, directly contributing to the price collapse.
COMEX is not where retail investors buy silver. It’s the wholesale reference market — the source of the spot price you see on financial websites and in dealer quotes.
See also: How the Silver Market Actually Works for full context on COMEX, LBMA, and price discovery.