Daily Vault Briefing ·Sep 2, 2026
The distillate complex is draining across the map while COMEX copper and Tokyo gold sit near their record highs, a split board where fuel inventories bottom out and metal stays pinned to the ceiling.
8 signals · 2 series crossed a threshold today
East Coast distillate stocks (PADD 1) printed 19.3 MM bbl, the lowest in the entire 37-yr record, down 8.0% on the week and 12.8% over 30 days. There is no muddier version of this signal: the level is at rock bottom and the velocity is still negative.
The West Coast rhymes with it. PADD 5 distillate sits at 9.9 MM bbl, its lowest since May 2025 and the 3rd percentile of a 37-yr series, down 6.7% on the week. Two coasts drawing hard at once, with SPR crude at 286.6 MM bbl, the lowest since Nov 1982, backing them from behind.
The metals board tells the opposite story. COMEX copper stocks hold 762,437 short tons at an 8-mo high, up 6.3% over 30 days, while Tokyo retail gold ¥24,721/g sits at the 99th percentile of its 38-yr record even after a 2.5% down day; the level is extreme, the daily move is a shrug. LME lead sits at the same 99th percentile but is bleeding, down 8.3% on the month, level and rate-of-change disagreeing.
The tension worth marking: fuel inventories are at record lows and still falling, base and precious metals are at or near record highs. The board is stretched at both ends at once.
West Coast diesel and heating-oil stocks fell to 9.9 MM bbl, the lowest since May 2025, down 6.7% on the week and 12.5% over 30 days. That sits in the 3rd percentile of a 37-year record.
East Coast distillate stocks dropped to 19.3 MM bbl, the lowest reading in the full 37-year record. Down 8.0% on the week and 12.8% over the month, a level at the floor with the move still pointing down.
COMEX copper stocks rose to 762,437 short tons, an 8-month high, up 0.5% on the day and 6.3% over 30 days. A short-run peak; the record here is only a few months deep.
Tokyo retail gold fetched ¥24,721/g, the 99th percentile of a 38-year record. Even a 2.5% down day leaves it 9.3% higher over 30 days, an extreme level with a calm session.
COMEX registered platinum, the metal actually pledged against contracts, sat at 191K oz, an 8-month low. Flat on the day, down 2.5% over the month; the history behind this reading runs only a few months deep.
Midwest jet fuel stocks rose to 8.2 MM bbl, the highest since Jan 2026, up 1.8% on the week and 12.3% over 30 days. The one build on an otherwise draining fuel board.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve holds 286.6 MM bbl, the lowest since Nov 1982, down 1.1% on the week and 6.8% over the month. First percentile of a 44-year record; a thin national backstop is a standing vulnerability whenever supply turns.
LME lead stocks held 404,675 mt, still the 99th percentile of a 19-year record, but down 0.4% on the day and 8.3% over 30 days. The level stays elevated while the trend drains, the two disagreeing.
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.