Jul 30, 2026
The board splits by metal: LME base stocks pull in opposite directions while COMEX gold registered inventory grinds to a 7-month low and Tokyo retail gold sits a hair off its 38-year peak.
LME lead sits at the 100th percentile of a 19-year record, up 50.6% over 30 days, yet the daily print is dead flat at -0.1%. The level is at a two-decade extreme; the velocity has stalled. That gap between an extreme position and a frozen tape is the signal to watch.
The two LME base metals rhyme in structure and diverge in direction. Lead is pinned to its record ceiling while aluminum is pinned to its record floor, 0th percentile, down 12.3% over 30 days. Same exchange, opposite ends of the range.
COMEX metal tells its own split. Registered gold is at a 7-month low (1st percentile) and total gold at a 7-month low (2nd percentile), both barely moving day to day, while COMEX copper stocks push to a 7-month high, up 7.2% over 30 days. Gold inventory drains slowly; copper builds.
On the energy side, Cushing crude is the lowest since Aug 2014 and SPR crude the lowest since Mar 1983, down 7.1% over 30 days. Tokyo retail gold caps the board at the 99th percentile of a 38-year record, up 1.0% on the day. The data shows extremes clustered at both rails, with most of the daily moves already quiet.
Cushing crude sits at 18.6 MM bbl, the lowest since Aug 2014 and the 10th percentile of a 22-year record. Down 4.0% on the week and 1.9% over 30 days.
LME lead stocks are at 447,200 mt, the 100th percentile of a 19-year record after a 50.6% build over 30 days. The daily move is flat at -0.1%, so the level is extreme while the pace has stalled.
COMEX registered gold, the metal actually pledged against contracts, is at 14.75M oz, a 7-month low. Down just 0.1% on the day and 0.3% over 30 days, a slow grind lower.
COMEX copper stocks are at 710,401 short tons, a 7-month high, up 7.2% over 30 days. A steady build, up 0.2% on the day.
SPR crude is at 307.6 MM bbl, the lowest since Mar 1983 and the 1st percentile of a 44-year record. Down 1.2% on the week and 7.1% over 30 days.
COMEX total gold stocks are at 27.03M oz, a 7-month low. Essentially flat on the day, down 2.4% over 30 days.
LME aluminum stocks are at 267,800 mt, the lowest in the 19-year record and the 0th percentile. Down 0.6% on the day and 12.3% over 30 days.
Tokyo retail gold via Tanaka is at 23,744 yen/g, the 99th percentile of a 38-year record. Up 1.0% on the day and 2.7% 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.