CME Group plans to begin 24/7 trading in its 100-ounce silver futures contract on Sept. 11, 2026, subject to regulatory approval, extending round-the-clock access to a smaller-sized product aimed at retail participants. The move follows the July 24 launch of continuous trading in 1-ounce gold futures, where weekend volume topped 53,000 contracts in less than three weeks, representing about $219 million in notional value and helping validate demand for always-available precious-metals trading. CME's 100-ounce silver contract, listed in February and cash-settled against the daily settlement price of benchmark COMEX 5,000-ounce silver futures, averaged 17,800 contracts a day in the first half of 2026, while average daily notional volume across CME silver futures exceeded a record $50 billion. CME said silver's role as both a precious and industrial metal, including demand from sectors such as solar panels and electronic components, makes it useful for portfolio diversification and real-time risk management across macroeconomic and manufacturing-driven swings. Across its metals business, average daily volume reached 1.3 million contracts in the first half, up 55% from a year earlier.