Daily Vault Briefing ·Jun 28, 2026
The crude complex is the story today: SPR at a 44-year low, Cushing draining hard, while copper stocks split between exchanges and gold sits pinned near record highs.
8 signals ranked by distance from normal
SPR crude reads 331.2 MM bbl, the lowest level since June 1983, down 2.7% on the week and 11.5% over 30 days. The level is the alarm, not the speed; sitting in the 2nd percentile of a 44-year record means a calm weekly move still leaves the reserve thinner than almost any point on the books.
Cushing crude rhymes with it, down 26.6% over 30 days to 19.0 MM bbl, the lowest since October 2014. Commercial crude tells a softer version of the same draw, off 7.4% on the month but still sitting at the 75th percentile, so the petroleum board is draining at the margins while the bulk inventory stays mid-range.
Copper diverges across exchanges. COMEX stocks pushed to a 6-month high at 662,802 short tons while LME copper fell 13.1% over 30 days to the 75th percentile; metal is piling up on one venue and bleeding off the other. Managed-money net copper sits at the 92nd percentile of its 20-year record even after a 10.3% trim, a crowded long that has stopped getting more crowded.
Gold shows the cleanest level-versus-velocity split on the board. Tokyo retail gold sits in the 98th percentile of a 37-year record yet barely moved on the day at +0.2%, even as it gave back 9.6% over 30 days, while COMEX registered gold hit a 6-month low at 14.78M oz. An extreme price level paired with a thinning deliverable stockpile is the standing tension worth tracking.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 331.2 MM bbl, its lowest since June 1983. Down 2.7% on the week and 11.5% over 30 days, it sits in the 2nd percentile of a 44-year record.
Tokyo retail gold sits at ¥23,150/g, in the 98th percentile of its 37-year record. The daily move was a flat +0.2%, but the price is down 9.6% over the past 30 days.
Cushing crude fell to 19.0 MM bbl, the lowest since October 2014. It is down 5.4% on the week and 26.6% over 30 days, sitting in the 11th percentile of a 22-year record.
COMEX copper stocks rose to 662,802 short tons, a 6-month high, up 0.3% on the day and 4.0% over 30 days. The record here runs only a few months deep.
LME copper stocks slipped to 336,475 mt, down 0.8% on the day and 13.1% over 30 days. That leaves the level at the 75th percentile of an 18-year record, draining as COMEX stocks climb.
US commercial crude sits at 412.1 MM bbl, the 75th percentile of a 44-year record. It is down 1.5% on the week and 7.4% over 30 days, a milder draw than the SPR and Cushing.
Managed-money net copper stands at 66,547 contracts, the 92nd percentile of a 20-year record. The long is still crowded even after a 3.6% weekly trim and a 10.3% pullback over 30 days.
COMEX registered gold fell to 14.78M oz, a 6-month low, down 1.0% on the day and 6.0% over 30 days. This is the deliverable pile, and its history runs only a few months deep.
Sources and method
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.