Managed Money's Grip on Gold and Silver Prices Weakens

The Commitment of Traders (CoTs) report for the period ending September 22nd, 2026 shows that managed money is no longer driving price moves in both Gold and Silver. Historically, managed money dominated the price action in these precious metals, but recent trends suggest a shift.

In the gold market, managed money started accumulating in May and peaked in late August, only to drop their exposure again. This decline could be a reason for the recent price weakness. The weekly activity shows that managed money has been liquidating for four straight weeks, which explains the price movement.

Meanwhile, the options market saw a slight uptick in recent weeks but remains below its peak levels seen throughout 2020-2025. In contrast, silver is staying flat with no significant changes in net positioning. The speculative money got chased out of the silver market at the beginning of the year and has not returned.

The CoTs report highlights that big price moves are now coming from other forces rather than managed money alone. Central Bank and Asian buying have become major drivers supporting prices, which may continue to do so.