Jul 19, 2026
LME lead stocks sit at the top of their 19-year record after a 48.9% one-month build, while COMEX gold coverage grinds toward the floor of its short run.
LME lead stocks are the standout: 452,075 mt, the 100th percentile of a 19-year record, up 48.9% over 30 days. The daily print was flat at -0.4%, so the extreme lives in the position, not the speed. The metal piled in over a month and is now sitting there.
The gold picture reads the other way. COMEX total stocks slid to a 6-month low at 27.12M oz and coverage fell to the 11th percentile of its 6-month record, down 16.9% on the month. Both were little changed on the day, an extreme level with a calm hand on the wheel.
Copper and silver rhyme on the build side. COMEX copper stocks hit a 6-month high at 690,858 short tons, up 6.2% over 30 days, and the COMEX silver deliverable share climbed to a 6-month high at 29.1%, up 9.4% on the month. Metal is registering as available, not scarce, across the base and the deliverable side.
The energy cards drain in the same direction, on different timescales. SPR crude sits at 316.5 MM bbl, the lowest since April 1983 and the 1st percentile of a 44-year record, while gasoline stocks at 210.5 MM bbl mark the lowest since November 2025. The lead build and the crude drawdown are the day's two loudest positions, and neither moved fast to get there.
US gasoline stocks fell to 210.5 MM bbl, the lowest since November 2025, down 0.7% on the week and 2.1% over 30 days. That sits at the 36th percentile of a 37-year record.
LME lead stocks hit 452,075 mt, the 100th percentile of a 19-year record. The daily move was a flat -0.4%, but the month brought a 48.9% build; the extreme is in the level, not the pace.
SPR crude dropped to 316.5 MM bbl, the lowest since April 1983 and the 1st percentile of a 44-year record. Down 0.9% on the week and 9.4% over 30 days.
COMEX gold coverage sits at 38.5%, the 11th percentile of its 6-month record. Flat on the day but down 16.9% over 30 days, so a low level reached on a slow grind.
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. History here runs only a few months deep.
Tokyo retail gold via Tanaka sits at 23,118 yen per gram, the 98th percentile of a 38-year record, despite a 1.4% daily drop and a 6.8% slide over 30 days.
COMEX total gold stocks fell to 27.12M oz, a 6-month low, little changed on the day and down 2.9% over 30 days. The record only runs a few months back.
COMEX silver deliverable share reached 29.1%, a 6-month high, up 0.3% on the day and 9.4% over 30 days. More of the stack is registering as deliverable across a short history.
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.