Silver Producers Deliver Mixed Q3 Scorecard as Vault Inventories Climb and Fed Looms
Published on 10/18/2026 at 17:51 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Silver's physical and paper markets are telling diverging stories this week. Exchange inventories are building, mine output is arriving in uneven bursts, and the metal itself is clinging to a fragile foothold near $57 an ounce — all while traders mark time ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting that could set the tone for the rest of October.
COMEX vaults held 333.2 million troy ounces as of October 14, a rise of 1.2 million ounces from the prior report. Of that total, 103.1 million ounces sit in the registered category, ready for immediate delivery, with the remaining 230.1 million ounces classified as eligible. The next scheduled inventory update is due Monday, October 19, 2026.
A Quarter of Records and Roadblocks
The operational picture from producers is anything but uniform. Aya Gold & Silver, reporting on Wednesday, booked record output at its Zgounder mine of 1,497,749 ounces — an 11% gain year on year — alongside 244,875 ounces recovered from a time-limited reprocessing of historical pyrite stockpiles at Boumadine. Consolidated production reached 2.03 million ounces of silver equivalent.
Endeavour Silver weighed in with just under 2.10 million ounces for the quarter, a figure dented by repair work at the GuanacevĂ mill that has halted operations since September 21. The company also faced a blockade at its Terronera mine in August that brought activity to a temporary standstill.
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First Majestic posted 3.4 million ounces, though a twelve-day labour dispute at San Dimas cut into the result. Guanajuato Silver, meanwhile, reported 392,138 ounces of silver on Friday within a consolidated 683,675 ounces of silver equivalent — up 13.7% quarter on quarter. Throughput rose 14.6% to 131,774 tonnes as higher volumes from alternate sites compensated for a suspension at the Valenciana Mines Complex, where operations were paused following an August decision to prioritise exploration work.
Macro Crosscurrents Steady the Tape
The price backdrop has been punishing for much of the year. Silver has shed 19% since January, and at Friday's COMEX close of $57.13 an ounce it sits 11% below its 50-day moving average of $64.31. The heaviest blow came when US consumer prices printed at 3.7% year on year and 0.6% month on month, feeding fears of prolonged monetary tightening and sending the metal down 6.09% in a single session.
Relief arrived at week's end. Softer US retail sales and a subdued manufacturing gauge eased pressure across commodity markets, while prior producer price data had already reduced the heat on the Fed. Treasury yields retreated and the dollar lost ground, tempering worries about another rate hike in October — and giving silver enough breathing room to close Friday at that $57.13 mark.
Beneath the noise, the structural story retains its pull. Research from the Silver Institute and Metals Focus points to a global supply deficit of 46.3 million ounces for full-year 2026, widening from a 40.3 million-ounce shortfall the year before. Whether that gap can underpin prices depends heavily on whether the recent run of weak economic data can keep rate expectations in check. The next two-day Federal Reserve meeting, scheduled for October 27 and 28, is where the market expects its next real signal.
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