Metal in the vault is not metal you can still sell

A vault count answers one question: how much metal is in the building? A sale answers another: how much of that metal is still unpromised?

Rate locks, pending deliveries, and metal already sold but not yet handed over all sit on the same bars. Sell from the vault total, and the same kilo can be sold twice. Available-to-sell is what remains after those holds.

The rate on a deal is a second record. A customer lock expires. After it expires, the old rate should not still be treated as live. Premium and discount belong beside the reference rate, so a later reader can see why the invoice did not match the board.

Settlement is where the two records meet. The receipt says what moved. The stock ledger should change by that amount, not by a rounded guess.

A close-of-day check

• Physical stock and available-to-sell are both on the page, and they are not the same number
• Open rate locks show an expiry, not only a rate
• Nothing on the book has gone negative
• Each buy or sell can be traced to a delivery or a receipt