Aug 1, 2026
Two energy reserves sit at multi-decade lows while LME lead stocks push to the top of a 19-year record, and COMEX gold's registered pile keeps thinning underneath a rising copper stack.
LME lead stocks are the standout: 441,275 mt, the 100th percentile of a 19-year record, up 49.1% over 30 days. The daily move is a quiet -1.0%, so the level is pinned to the ceiling while the velocity has cooled; the abnormality reads position, not speed.
The energy side rhymes on the opposite end of the scale. Cushing sits at 18.6 MM bbl, its lowest since Aug 2014, and SPR crude is at 307.6 MM bbl, the lowest since Mar 1983. Both are parked at 22-year and 44-year floors, yet the daily bleed is modest at -4.0% and -1.2% on the week.
COMEX metal splits by direction. Registered gold is at 14.66M oz and total gold at 27.04M oz, both 7-month lows, with coverage down to 38.1%; copper stocks run the other way to 716,175 short tons, a 7-month high, up 7.4% on the month. Coverage is the standing gauge of how much registered metal backs open obligations, and it is at the low end of its short record.
Tokyo retail gold via Tanaka sits at ¥23,395/g, the 98th percentile of a 38-year series, but slipped 1.5% on the day. Extreme level, soft session; that gap between where a series sits and how fast it is moving is the read worth holding.
Cushing crude fell to 18.6 MM bbl, the lowest since Aug 2014. Down 4.0% on the week and 1.9% over 30 days, it sits in the 10th percentile of a 22-year record.
LME lead stocks hit 441,275 mt, the 100th percentile of a 19-year record. Up 49.1% over 30 days but only down 1.0% on the day, so the pile is at its ceiling while the fast build has slowed.
COMEX registered gold, the portion actually pledged to back contracts, dropped to 14.66M oz, a 7-month low. Down 0.6% on the day and 1.1% over 30 days.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 307.6 MM bbl, the lowest since Mar 1983. Down 1.2% on the week and 7.1% over 30 days, it sits at the 1st percentile of a 44-year record.
COMEX total gold stocks stand at 27.04M oz, a 7-month low, flat on the day and down 1.9% over 30 days. The level ranks in the 5th percentile of its short record.
COMEX copper stocks rose to 716,175 short tons, a 7-month high, up 0.3% on the day and 7.4% over 30 days. It sits at the top of its short record while gold thins.
COMEX gold coverage, the share of stocks backing open obligations, slipped to 38.1%, the lowest since Jan 2026. Down 0.6% on the day and 5.0% over 30 days.
Tokyo retail gold via Tanaka sits at ¥23,395/g, the 98th percentile of a 38-year record. Down 1.5% on the day but up 0.8% over 30 days, an extreme level with a soft session.
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.