Daily Vault Briefing ·Aug 29, 2026
LME aluminum sits at the lowest level in its 19-year record while COMEX copper piles up to an 8-month high, two base-metal warehouses reading in opposite directions on the same day.
8 signals · 2 series crossed a threshold today
LME aluminum stocks hit 246,725 mt, the lowest in the 19-year record, sitting at the 0th percentile. The daily move was flat, but the 30-day print is down 7.9%, so the level is at an extreme while the day itself was quiet. That gap, a record-low position reached without a sharp daily draw, is the signal worth marking.
Base metals are not moving as one. Aluminum is scraping the floor of its record and LME lead is down 9.2% over 30 days off a 99th-percentile level, yet COMEX copper is up 6.1% over the same window to an 8-month high at the 100th percentile. Draining warehouses on one side, building stocks on the other.
COMEX platinum reads thin on both counts we track: registered metal at 191K oz is at an 8-month low in the 2nd percentile, and coverage sits at 5.9%, also an 8-month low and down 19.1% over 30 days. When registered inventory backing paper claims runs this light, the standing mechanism is simple: fewer deliverable ounces stand behind each contract.
Tokyo retail gold via Tanaka is up 10.9% over 30 days to the 99th percentile of its 38-year record, even as SPR crude drops to 289.7 MM bbl, the lowest since Nov 1982. The data shows extremes stacked across unrelated series, most reached by grind rather than by a single violent day.
LME aluminum warehouse stocks fell to 246,725 mt, the lowest in the 19-year record and the 0th percentile of that history. The day was flat, but stocks are down 7.9% over 30 days.
US gasoline stocks stand at 206.8 MM bbl, the lowest since Nov 2025. Down 1.2% on the week and 2.1% over 30 days, still mid-range at the 26th percentile of a 37-year record.
Tokyo retail gold from Tanaka is priced at ¥26,075/g, the 99th percentile of a 38-year record. It slipped 0.5% on the day but is up 10.9% over 30 days.
COMEX copper stocks rose to 753,640 short tons, an 8-month high and the top of that short run. Up 0.4% on the day and 6.1% over 30 days.
COMEX registered platinum, the metal actually pledged for delivery, sits at 191K oz, an 8-month low in the 2nd percentile. Flat on the day, down 2.5% over 30 days.
LME lead stocks are at 406,250 mt, still the 99th percentile of a 19-year record. The stock is drawing down, off 0.6% on the day and 9.2% over 30 days.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 289.7 MM bbl, the lowest since Nov 1982 and the 1st percentile of its 44-year record. Down 1.3% on the week and 7.0% over 30 days.
COMEX platinum coverage, the share of open contracts backed by registered metal, is 5.9%, an 8-month low. Flat on the day but down 19.1% over 30 days.
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.