Jul 23, 2026
LME lead sits at a 19-year record while the day's tape barely moves, and the metal that usually moves opposite to it is doing the same thing on the other side of the ledger.
LME lead stocks hit the 100th percentile of a 19-year record at 449,325 mt, up 48.9% over 30 days. The level is as extreme as it gets, yet the day itself was flat at -0.1%. That gap between a record position and a dead-calm daily move is the signal: the build is already in the tank, not happening in front of us.
The COMEX side rhymes. Copper stocks pushed to a 6-mo high at 702,498 short tons, up 7.4% on the month, while gold ran the other direction to a 6-mo low at 27.07M oz, down 3.3%. Base metal warehouses filling as the gold vault drains is the divergence worth watching.
On the silver bench, coverage climbed to an 18.3% 6-mo high (up 14.6% over 30 days) and the deliverable share hit 29.2% (up 8.9%), both near the top of their short records, and both flat on the day. The 30-day builds are real; today's velocity is zero.
Central-bank and retail gold hold near the ceiling. China's reserves stand at a record 2,321.6 tonnes and Tokyo retail (Tanaka) sits in the 99th percentile of a 38-year record at 24,046 yen/g. Meanwhile SPR crude fell to its lowest since Mar 1983 at 311.4M bbl, down 8.5% on the month. The data shows metal accumulating at the extremes on one side and the strategic reserve draining on the other.
LME lead stocks sit at 449,325 mt, the top of a 19-year record. They jumped 48.9% over 30 days but were essentially flat on the day at -0.1%, so the build is already banked rather than moving right now.
The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 311.4M bbl, its lowest level since March 1983. It fell 1.6% on the week and 8.5% over the month.
COMEX silver coverage reached an 18.3% 6-month high, up 14.6% over 30 days but flat on the day. This measures how much registered metal backs the paper claims against it.
COMEX copper stocks rose to 702,498 short tons, a 6-month high, up 7.4% over 30 days and 0.2% on the day. Warehouses are filling on the copper side.
COMEX total gold stocks fell to 27.07M oz, a 6-month low, down 3.3% over the month while flat on the day. Metal has been leaving the gold vault as copper stacks up.
The share of COMEX silver that is actually deliverable rose to 29.2%, a 6-month high, up 8.9% over 30 days. It marks how much of the registered pile is available to settle contracts.
Tokyo retail gold at Tanaka hit 24,046 yen per gram, the 99th percentile of a 38-year record. It rose 1.0% on the day but is down 0.1% over 30 days, so the level is near record while the trend is flat.
China's reported gold reserves stand at 2,321.6 tonnes, the highest in the 11-year record, up 0.3% on the month.
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.