Jul 13, 2026
The physical gold complex is thinning at the COMEX while paper markets stay quiet, and the crude reserve just printed its lowest reading since 1983.
SPR crude sits at 319.5 MM bbl, the lowest since April 1983, a 44-year low. Down 1.9% on the week and 10.5% over 30 days, this is both an extreme level and a still-moving one, the rare case where position and speed agree.
The COMEX gold board tells a slower story. Total stocks at 27.12M oz and registered at 14.82M oz both sit at 6-mo lows, but the daily moves are flat: registered was little changed, total off 0.2%. The level is stressed while the velocity is calm, and coverage has slid to 39.9%, down 14.3% over 30 days against a 16th-percentile standing. When coverage grinds lower on quiet daily prints, the drain is structural, not a one-day event.
Silver rhymes from the opposite direction. Its deliverable share hit a 6-mo high at 28.5%, up 7.1% over 30 days, while gold's coverage falls, two precious metals pulling apart on how much registered metal backs the open interest.
Copper positioning cools off: managed-money net longs at 58,784 contracts still rank 90th percentile of the 20-yr record, but the 30-day move is down 22.4%. Tokyo retail gold sits at the 99th percentile of a 38-year series despite a 2.1% pullback. Across the board, the data shows extreme levels with unremarkable daily speed, except in crude, where both are still running.
The strategic crude reserve holds 319.5 MM bbl, the lowest reading since April 1983. It fell 1.9% on the week and 10.5% over 30 days, a rare case where the level and the rate of decline are both extreme.
COMEX total gold stocks at 27.12M oz mark a 6-mo low. The daily move was a mild 0.2%, but the metal is down 3.9% over 30 days, a slow grind rather than a single sharp drop.
COMEX gold coverage, the share of open contracts backed by deliverable metal, sits at 39.9%, in the 16th percentile of its 6-mo record. It slipped 0.6% on the day but is down 14.3% over 30 days.
COMEX silver's deliverable share reached 28.5%, a 6-mo high, up 7.1% over 30 days. This is silver moving the opposite way from gold's thinning coverage.
Tokyo retail gold from Tanaka sits at 23,569 yen per gram, the 99th percentile of a 38-year record. It eased 1.1% on the day and 2.1% over 30 days, a small step down from a historic high.
Managed-money net copper longs stand at 58,784 contracts, still 90th percentile of the 20-yr record. But the position is down 22.4% over 30 days, showing speculators trimming from an elevated base.
COMEX registered gold, the metal actually available to settle contracts, holds at 14.82M oz, a 6-mo low. It was flat on the day and down 2.2% over 30 days.
Cushing crude stocks sit at 19.6 MM bbl, the 12th percentile of a 22-year record. The weekly move was a slight 0.3% lower, but the 30-day drop is 12.6%.
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.