Jun 21, 2026
Crude inventories are draining across every tier the Desk tracks, with the SPR at its lowest since Jul 1983, while base-metal warehouses thin and Tokyo retail gold sits a hair off its 37-year record.
The headline is the SPR: 340.3 MM bbl, the lowest reading since Jul 1983 and the 2nd-lowest in the 44-year record, down 2.6% on the week and 11.4% over 30 days. A 44-year low that is still falling is the rare case where level and velocity agree, and they agree in the same direction.
Cushing rhymes with it. At 20.0 MM bbl, the lowest since Oct 2014 and down 26.9% over 30 days, the WTI delivery hub is draining faster than the strategic reserve. Commercial crude at 418.2 MM bbl still sits at the 77th percentile, so the overall barrel count looks comfortable while the two locations that matter most run thin. That gap between the aggregate and the chokepoints is the read worth holding.
The base metals echo the same one-way drain on a calmer clock. LME aluminum at 315,300 mt is the lowest since Sep 2022, down 7.1% over 30 days but flat on the day; LME copper at 352,150 mt is down 10.5% over 30 days yet still parks at the 79th percentile. Both show the same signature: a steady monthly bleed under a quiet daily tape, the level lagging behind the speed.
On the precious side, Tokyo retail gold at the 99th percentile of its 37-year record is priced near an extreme while down 2.2% on the day and 5.7% over 30 days, a high level cooling at the edge. COMEX silver coverage at 16.7% is a 5-month high, up 6.1% over 30 days but dead flat today, and SLV shares hold the 85th percentile. The data shows reserves draining where they are concentrated and holdings holding where they are diffuse.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve sits at 340.3 MM bbl, the lowest since Jul 1983 and the 2nd-lowest in 44 years of records. It fell 2.6% on the week and 11.4% over 30 days, so a multi-decade low is still dropping.
Cushing, the WTI delivery hub, holds 20.0 MM bbl, the lowest since Oct 2014. Down 7.4% on the week and 26.9% over 30 days, it is draining faster than any other crude tier the Desk tracks.
Tokyo retail gold prices at ¥24,061/g, the 99th percentile of a 37-year record. The level is near its peak even as it eased 2.2% on the day and 5.7% over 30 days.
Commercial crude stocks stand at 418.2 MM bbl, still the 77th percentile of the 44-year record. The aggregate looks comfortable despite a 7.7% drop over 30 days, a contrast with the thinning SPR and Cushing.
LME aluminum stocks are 315,300 mt, the lowest since Sep 2022. Flat on the day but down 7.1% over 30 days, the drain is steady rather than sudden.
COMEX silver coverage is 16.7%, a 5-month high, up 6.1% over 30 days but unchanged on the day. Coverage measures how much registered metal backs the contracts standing against it.
LME copper stocks are 352,150 mt, still the 79th percentile of the 18-year record. Down 1.0% on the day and 10.5% over 30 days, the level stays high while the monthly trend bleeds lower.
SLV holds 530.9M shares outstanding, the 85th percentile of its 20-year record. Essentially flat on the day and down just 1.6% over 30 days, the silver ETF is holding its position.
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.