Aug 5, 2026
The board splits by metal: LME lead has ballooned to a 19-year record high while COMEX gold stocks and their coverage ratio grind to multi-month lows.
LME lead sits at the 100th percentile of a 19-year record, 434,875 mt, up 48.3% over 30 days. That is the loudest signal on the board, and note the tension: the level is at an all-time extreme while the daily move was a quiet -0.8%. The stock built fast, then stopped; the position is stretched, the speed is calm.
Gold tells the opposite story on the warehouse side. COMEX total gold stocks are at a 7-month low, 27.03M oz, and gold coverage has slid to 37.1%, its lowest since Jan 2026 and down 7.5% over 30 days. Both series drain together while lead piles up.
Copper diverges again from gold within the same COMEX complex: copper stocks hit a 7-month high, 718,726 short tons, up 7.4% over 30 days, even as gold and platinum registered inventory both mark 7-month lows. Metal is accumulating in some sheds and thinning in others.
Tokyo retail gold holds near the top of its 38-year range at the 98th percentile, ¥22,932/g, up 0.7% on the day but down 4.6% over 30 days, a case where an extreme level and a soft month sit side by side. The data shows a physical market pulling in two directions, not one.
US gasoline stocks fell to 209.7 MM bbl, the lowest since Nov 2025, down 0.8% on the week and 2.0% over 30 days. That leaves the level at the 34th percentile of a 37-year record.
LME lead stocks stand at 434,875 mt, the 100th percentile of a 19-year record, after a 48.3% build over 30 days. The daily move was a modest -0.8%, so the level is extreme while the near-term pace has cooled.
COMEX total gold stocks sit at 27.03M oz, a 7-month low, little changed on the day but down 1.2% over 30 days. The level ranks at the 5th percentile of its short record.
COMEX copper stocks reached 718,726 short tons, a 7-month high, up 0.2% on the day and 7.4% over 30 days. Metal is accumulating on this book.
COMEX registered platinum, the metal actually deliverable against contracts, sits at 196K oz, a 7-month low near the 2nd percentile of its short record. It was flat on the day and down 0.9% over 30 days.
Tokyo retail gold via Tanaka is ¥22,932/g, the 98th percentile of a 38-year record, up 0.7% on the day but down 4.6% over 30 days. The level is near its historic top even as the month has softened.
SPR crude fell to 304.8 MM bbl, the lowest since Feb 1983 and the 1st percentile of a 44-year record. It is down 0.9% on the week and 6.4% over 30 days.
COMEX gold coverage, the share of stock registered against open contracts, dropped to 37.1%, the lowest since Jan 2026. It fell 1.7% on the day and 7.5% over 30 days, leaving it at the 8th percentile.
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.