CME Halts Metals Trading Ahead of First Notice Day

Second outage in three months raises concerns about market manipulation

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

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The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) halted all metals and natural gas futures and options trading on its Globex platform on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 - just 48 hours before March First Notice Day. This is the second major outage at the exchange in the past three months, sparking concerns about potential market manipulation as physical silver prices in Asia surge to a 16% premium over Western spot prices.

Why it matters

The timing of the CME's trading halt, coming right before a key delivery date, raises suspicions that the exchange is trying to suppress physical silver prices and protect large short positions held by major banks. This comes amid a broader debate about the integrity of the paper-based precious metals markets versus the physical reality of tight supply and surging demand.

The details

The CME cited 'technical issues' as the reason for the trading halt, providing no further details. This follows a 10-hour outage in November 2025 that was later attributed to human error at a data center operated by CyrusOne. While the CME has a backup data center, it chose not to activate it during the November outage. With physical silver prices in Shanghai trading at a 16% premium to Western spot prices, the CME's latest halt is seen by many as an attempt to artificially suppress prices and protect short sellers.

  • On February 25, 2026, the CME halted all metals and natural gas futures and options trading on its Globex platform at 12:11 CT.
  • March First Notice Day, when delivery demands would be filed, is scheduled for February 27, 2026 - just two days after the CME's trading halt.

The players

CME Group

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, one of the world's largest derivatives exchanges, which has experienced two major trading outages in the past three months.

CyrusOne

The data center operator that experienced a cooling system failure at its Aurora, Illinois facility in November 2025, leading to a 10-hour outage on the CME's Globex platform.

JPMorgan

A major U.S. bank widely reported to hold significant short positions in silver, which could be threatened by rising physical prices.

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What they’re saying

“This is not the first time CME's infrastructure has conveniently failed at a sensitive moment.”

— Niko Moretti, Author (substack.com)

“When physical silver costs 16% more in the world's largest consuming nation than it does on a Western exchange that is currently not even operational, the paper pricing system is broadcasting its own irrelevance.”

— Niko Moretti, Author (substack.com)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

The CME's repeated trading halts at critical moments raise serious questions about the integrity of the precious metals markets and the potential for manipulation by large financial institutions with significant short positions. This latest incident further undermines confidence in the paper-based pricing system and highlights the growing disconnect between physical and paper silver prices.