Aug 3, 2026
Record watch: Cushing crude is the lowest since Aug 2014.
Cushing crude sits at 18.6 MM bbl, the lowest since Aug 2014, and SPR crude at 307.6 MM bbl is the lowest since Mar 1983. Cushing is down 4.0% on the week; the SPR is down 7.1% over 30 days, a 44-year low that keeps grinding lower.
The gold side rhymes with the drain. COMEX registered gold is at a 7-mo low of 14.66M oz, total stocks at a 7-mo low of 27.04M oz, and coverage has slipped to 38.1%, its lowest since Jan 2026. Registered gold ranks in the 1st percentile of its short run, yet the daily move was just 0.6%, the level is extreme while the speed is calm.
The base metals pull the other way. LME lead stocks sit at the 100th percentile of a 19-year record, but the story there is velocity: flat 1.0% on the day against a 49.1% build over 30 days. COMEX copper reads a 7-mo high, up 7.4% on the month, warehouses filling while the gold shelves empty.
Tokyo retail gold at Tanaka holds the 98th percentile of a 38-year record but fell 3.3% on the day, a rich level meeting a sharp move. What the board shows is a split tape: crude and gold inventories draining at multi-year lows, base-metal stocks stacking toward the top of record.
The Cushing storage hub holds 18.6 MM bbl of crude, its lowest since Aug 2014 and the 10th percentile of a 22-year record. Down 4.0% on the week.
LME lead stocks sit at 441,275 mt, the 100th percentile of a 19-year record. Flat on the day at down 1.0%, but up a steep 49.1% over 30 days.
COMEX registered gold, the metal actually pledged for delivery, is at 14.66M oz, a 7-mo low. Down 0.6% on the day and 1.1% on the month.
Tokyo retail gold at Tanaka prints Y22,624/g, the 98th percentile of a 38-year record. It fell 3.3% on the day and 4.9% over 30 days.
The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 307.6 MM bbl, its lowest since Mar 1983 and the bottom 1st percentile of a 44-year record. Down 7.1% over 30 days.
Total COMEX gold stocks stand at 27.04M oz, a 7-mo low. Essentially unchanged on the day, down 1.9% over the month.
COMEX copper stocks are at 716,175 short tons, a 7-mo high. Up 0.3% on the day and 7.4% over 30 days, warehouses building.
COMEX gold coverage, registered metal against open claims, is 38.1%, its lowest since Jan 2026. Down 5.0% 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.