Jul 17, 2026
LME lead stocks sit pinned at the top of a 19-year record after a 49.5% build in 30 days, while COMEX gold coverage grinds down to the 11th percentile of its short-run history.
LME lead stocks are the standout: 454,025 mt as of Jul 16, the 100th percentile of a 19-year record, after a 49.5% climb over 30 days. The daily move is a quiet -0.6%, which is the tension worth naming; the level is at a two-decade extreme while the speed has cooled to a crawl. A record-high inventory that stops climbing is a different signal than one still filling.
Copper rhymes with lead on the build side. COMEX copper stocks hit a 6-month high at 690,858 short tons, up 1.3% on the day and 6.2% over 30 days, still moving up rather than leveling off. Two base-metal warehouses stacking metal at once is the board's clearest theme today.
Gold pulls the opposite direction. COMEX total gold stocks sit at a 6-month low of 27.12M oz, and coverage has dropped to the 11th percentile of its 6-month record, down 16.9% over 30 days even as today's reading barely moved. Meanwhile COMEX silver deliverable share pushed to a 6-month high at 29.1%; the two precious metals are diverging on how much registered metal backs the paper.
On the energy side, both gasoline and the SPR read low: gasoline at 210.5 MM bbl, its lowest since Nov 2025, and SPR crude at 316.5 MM bbl, its lowest since April 1983 and the 1st percentile of a 44-year record. The data shows base metals filling warehouses while gold coverage and strategic crude sit thin.
US gasoline stocks fell to 210.5 MM bbl, the lowest since Nov 2025, down 0.7% on the week and 2.1% over 30 days. That puts the level at the 36th percentile of a 37-year record.
LME lead stocks reached 454,025 mt, the 100th percentile of a 19-year record after a 49.5% build over 30 days. The daily move was just -0.6%, so the extreme level is now sitting still rather than climbing.
SPR crude fell to 316.5 MM bbl, the lowest since April 1983 and the 1st percentile of a 44-year record. It is down 9.4% over 30 days. A thin strategic reserve leaves less cushion to draw on when supply tightens.
COMEX gold coverage sits at 38.5%, the 11th percentile of its 6-month record and down 16.9% over 30 days, though it was little changed today. Coverage measures how much registered metal backs the open paper claims; a lower reading means thinner backing.
COMEX copper stocks rose to 690,858 short tons, a 6-month high, up 1.3% on the day and 6.2% over 30 days. Warehouses are still taking in metal rather than releasing it.
Tokyo retail gold from Tanaka printed at 23,118 yen per gram, the 98th percentile of a 38-year record. It slipped 1.4% on the day and 6.8% over 30 days, still near the top of its long history despite the pullback.
COMEX total gold stocks sit at 27.12M oz, a 6-month low, little changed today but down 2.9% over 30 days. That is the 3rd percentile of its short-run record.
COMEX silver deliverable share rose to 29.1%, a 6-month high, up 0.3% on the day and 9.4% over 30 days. More of the vaulted silver is now registered as deliverable against contracts.
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.