Daily Vault Briefing ·Aug 22, 2026
Two crude series pull in opposite directions while precious metals stocks quietly thin and Tokyo gold sits within a point of its 38-year ceiling.
8 signals · 1 series crossed a threshold today
The two US crude series are diverging. Commercial crude sat at the 82nd percentile of a 44-year record as of Aug 14, up 4.7% over 30 days, while the SPR drained to 293.4 MM bbl, its lowest reading since Dec 1982 and the 1st percentile of that same 44-year window. One reservoir fills as the other empties.
The base metals rhyme through a different lens. LME lead sits at the 100th percentile of its 19-year record and LME aluminum at the 0th, yet both barely moved on the day (down 0.1% and flat) while grinding on the 30-day tape (lead down 7.2%, aluminum down 10.8%). Extreme levels, calm daily prints; the velocity lives in the monthly move, not the tick.
COMEX precious metals are thinning at the registered end. Total gold stocks hit a 7-month low at 26.70M oz and registered platinum a 7-month low at 193K oz, both essentially flat on the day but down 1.4% and 2.7% over 30 days. Copper is the outlier, a 7-month high at 742,778 short tons, up 5.7% on the month.
Tokyo retail gold at Tanaka reads ¥25,571/g, the 99th percentile of a 38-year record and up 7.4% over 30 days. The level is near the ceiling and the rate of change is still positive, both pointing the same way. The data shows metal levels stretched to extremes while daily moves stay quiet, with the real motion in the 30-day tape.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 293.4 MM bbl, its lowest level since Dec 1982, at the 1st percentile of a 44-year record. Down 1.8% on the week and 7.3% over 30 days.
COMEX total gold stocks stand at 26.70M oz, a 7-month low. Flat on the day (up 0.1%) but down 1.4% over the month.
LME lead stocks at 416,850 mt sit at the 100th percentile of a 19-year record. Barely moved on the day, down 0.1%, but off 7.2% over 30 days.
COMEX copper stocks reached 742,778 short tons, a 7-month high, up 5.7% over 30 days. The lone build on an otherwise draining board.
Tokyo retail gold at Tanaka prints ¥25,571/g, the 99th percentile of a 38-year record. Up 0.6% on the day and 7.4% over the month.
COMEX registered platinum sits at 193K oz, a 7-month low. Unchanged on the day, down 2.7% over 30 days.
US commercial crude holds 428.8 MM bbl, the 82nd percentile of a 44-year record, up 1.0% on the week and 4.7% over 30 days.
LME aluminum stocks at 246,925 mt sit at the 0th percentile of a 19-year record. Flat on the day but down 10.8% over the month.
Sources and method
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.