What are current LBMA silver vault totals and how are they reported weekly?
Executive summary
London’s LBMA-reported silver vault total stood at about 27,818 metric tonnes at the end of December 2025, valued at roughly $64.4 billion according to the LBMA’s published vault data [1]. That figure is part of a monthly publication cycle for aggregate vault holdings; LBMA also issues weekly market/trade data that give shorter‑term signals about flows and activity but do not replace the monthly vault totals [1] [2].
1. What the LBMA counts: the headline number and its scope
The “current” LBMA silver vault total widely quoted is the aggregate volume of Loco London silver stored in London custodial vaults — a universe that the LBMA defines and publishes as a single monthly figure (27,818 tonnes at end‑December 2025, $64.4bn) and which excludes non‑London private or retail holdings by design [1] [3]. The LBMA’s series has shown month‑to‑month growth in late 2025 (26,255t in October and 27,187t in November before the December number), illustrating that the published totals move materially month to month when flows occur [4] [5] [1].
2. How and when the vault totals are reported (monthly, not weekly)
LBMA vault holdings are published on a monthly cadence—generally on the first business day following month‑end—which makes the vault total a lagged, end‑of‑month snapshot rather than a real‑time inventory feed [1] [2] [6]. Several LBMA documents and commentators explicitly note that the vault publication on the fifth business day of each month (or the first business day) provides the amount held at the end of the prior month [1] [6].
3. What the weekly data actually are: trade and clearing flows
Market participants looking for higher‑frequency information rely on LBMA weekly or daily trade and clearing statistics—published separately—which report volumes transferred/cleared in London (for example, silver transfers of hundreds of millions of ounces in given periods) and thereby signal liquidity and flow dynamics even as the vault stock number remains monthly [7] [1]. In short, the weekly LBMA Trade Data and clearing metrics illuminate activity and settlements; they do not revise the monthly vault‑stock snapshot more frequently [1] [7].
4. Why the distinction matters: inventory versus availability
Analysts caution that the headline vault tonnes include large holdings tied to ETFs and custodial allocations that are not equivalent to an immediately deliverable “free float,” a distinction the LBMA‑based commentators and independent analysts have underlined when interpreting the monthly totals [8]. That caveat matters because rising vault tonnes can reflect inflows to ETFs or custodial consolidation rather than a sudden expansion of metal immediately available for physical delivery in the spot market [8] [9].
5. Alternative views and data limitations
Industry and independent sources add context and differing interpretations: LBMA quarterly and annual market reports frame the vault trend as part of broader market balance narratives [10] [11], while some market analysts and newsletters emphasise a much smaller “free float” and warn about the difference between paper claims and physical bars [8] [12]. The public record from LBMA is authoritative for aggregate London vault totals and clearing activity, but it does not provide bar‑level provenance or a granular breakdown of ETF versus non‑ETF metal in the published month‑end number, so analysts must triangulate with ETF filings, clearing statistics and commercial reports to assess deliverability [1] [7] [8].