Jul 21, 2026
LME lead stocks sit pinned at a 19-year high after a 49.6% build over 30 days, while COMEX gold quietly grinds to a 6-month low, two metals telling opposite inventory stories.
LME lead leads the board: 451,775 mt, the 100th percentile of a 19-year record, up 49.6% over 30 days. The daily move is flat at -0.1%, so the story is not today's tick but the standing pile the last month built. Level extreme, velocity now calm.
Copper rhymes with lead on the way in. COMEX copper stocks hit a 6-month high at 698,637 short tons, up 7.1% over 30 days and still adding 0.6% on the day. Two base metals stacking metal into warehouses at the same time.
Gold pulls the other way. COMEX total gold sits at a 6-month low of 27.07M oz, down 3.3% over 30 days, and coverage has thinned to 38.5%, the 11th percentile of its short record after a 13.3% drop. Both daily moves read near zero, so the drain is a slow one, not a shock. Meanwhile Tokyo retail gold sits at the 98th percentile of a 38-year record, price near its ceiling as the deliverable metal behind it thins.
On the energy side, US gasoline stocks are the lowest since Nov 2025 and SPR crude the lowest since Apr 1983, both grinding lower on modest weekly moves. The data shows base metals loading in while gold inventory and strategic crude quietly bleed out.
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, sitting at the 36th percentile of a 37-year record.
LME lead stocks hit 451,775 mt, the 100th percentile of a 19-year record. The 30-day build of 49.6% did the work; today's move was a flat -0.1%.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 316.5 MM bbl, the lowest since Apr 1983 and the 1st percentile of a 44-year record. Down 9.4% over 30 days, a slow and steady drawdown.
COMEX copper stocks rose to 698,637 short tons, a 6-month high, up 0.6% on the day and 7.1% over 30 days. Metal keeps loading into the warehouses.
The share of COMEX silver that is deliverable reached 29.2%, a 6-month high, up 8.6% over 30 days. The daily move was flat, so the shift has built over weeks.
COMEX total gold stocks slipped to 27.07M oz, a 6-month low, down 3.3% over 30 days. The daily move of -0.2% shows a slow grind, not a sudden exit.
COMEX gold coverage dropped to 38.5%, the 11th percentile of its 6-month record, down 13.3% over 30 days. Thinner coverage means less registered metal standing behind open positions.
Tokyo retail gold priced at Tanaka reached 23,247 yen per gram, the 98th percentile of a 38-year record. Up 0.6% on the day, though still down 3.4% over 30 days.
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.