Jun 18, 2026
The petroleum side of the board is draining at every node, with SPR crude at its lowest level since July 1983 and Cushing down 26.9% in 30 days, while base-metal stocks split clean down the middle.
SPR crude sits at 340.3 MM bbl, the lowest reading in a 44-year record, ranked 2nd from the bottom. The level is the story here more than the speed: down 2.6% on the week is an orderly move, but it is an orderly move continuing well past every prior floor.
Cushing tells the opposite version of the same trend. At 20.0 MM bbl it sits at the 12th percentile, not yet a record, but the rate of change is loud: down 7.4% on the week and 26.9% over 30 days. Commercial crude rounds out the petroleum read at the 77th percentile, still comfortable on level but down 7.7% on the month. A high position bleeding fast is a different signal than a low position holding steady.
The base metals pull apart rather than rhyme. LME aluminum sits at the 1st percentile, its lowest since Sep 2022, while LME tin (66th percentile, highest since May 2015) and LME lead (91st percentile) are both stacking metal, lead up 14.9% over 30 days. Same exchange, opposite directions.
On precious metals, Tokyo retail gold holds the 99th percentile of a 37-year record even after slipping 5.1% on the month, and COMEX silver coverage at 16.7% marks a 5-month high. The data shows extreme positioning sitting alongside calm-to-soft daily moves, which is the gap worth watching: where metal is, versus how fast it is getting there.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 340.3 MM bbl, the lowest since July 1983 and 2nd from the bottom of a 44-year record. Down 2.6% on the week and 11.4% over 30 days.
Cushing, the main US oil hub, sits at 20.0 MM bbl, its lowest since Oct 2014. The pace is steep: down 7.4% on the week, 26.9% over 30 days.
LME tin stocks rose to 9,025 mt, the highest since May 2015, up 3.6% on the day and 13.0% over 30 days. That ranks at the 66th percentile of an 18-year record.
Tokyo retail gold at Tanaka sits at the 99th percentile of a 37-year record at the equivalent of an extreme level. Even after a 0.8% daily dip and 5.1% over 30 days, the position stays near the top of its history.
US commercial crude inventory is 418.2 MM bbl, still comfortable at the 77th percentile of a 44-year record. Down 1.9% on the week and 7.7% over 30 days.
LME aluminum stocks fell to 316,525 mt, the lowest since Sep 2022 and the 1st percentile of an 18-year record. The daily move is calm at down 0.5%, but the 30-day draw is 7.4%.
COMEX silver coverage stands at 16.7%, a 5-month high, up 1.3% on the day and 7.0% over 30 days. That is the 99th percentile of its short record.
LME lead stocks held flat on the day at 303,650 mt but are up 14.9% over 30 days, sitting at the 91st percentile of an 18-year record.
Sources: CME Group COMEX warehouse reports, LME warehouse data, EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report, ETF issuer filings, and venue price quotes. Every figure is computed straight from the stored source data; percentiles rank today's level against the series' full record.