Daily Vault Briefing ·Sep 3, 2026
Physical distillate on both US coasts is draining at once, with East Coast stocks now the lowest in the 37-year record, while LME base-metal inventories split hard between an aluminum floor and a lead ceiling.
8 signals · 3 series crossed a threshold today
East Coast distillate stocks sit at 19.3 MM bbl, the lowest in the entire 37-year record, down 8.0% on the week and 12.8% over 30 days. That is not a slow bleed; the level is at rock bottom and the rate-of-change is still steepening.
The West Coast rhymes with it. PADD 5 distillate at 9.9 MM bbl, lowest since May 2025, off 6.7% on the week and 12.5% over 30 days. Two coasts, same direction, same speed. Midwest jet fuel is the lone counterweight, at an 8.2 MM bbl high since Jan 2026 and up 12.3% on the month.
On the metals board, the divergence is inside the LME warehouse system itself. Aluminum stocks printed the lowest in their 19-year record at 246,225 mt, while lead sits at the 99th percentile of the same 19-year window. Both are drifting the same way day to day, aluminum off 0.2% and lead off 1.3%, but they occupy opposite ends of their histories.
COMEX shows calm levels at extreme readings: copper stocks at an 8-month high of 764,597 short tons and the gold deliverable share at an 8-month high of 55.2%, both barely moving on the day. Extreme position, quiet velocity. The story today is the distillate slide, where position and speed agree.
West Coast distillate stocks fell to 9.9 MM bbl, the lowest since May 2025, down 6.7% on the week and 12.5% over 30 days. Sits in the 3rd percentile of a 37-year record.
East Coast distillate stocks hit 19.3 MM bbl, the lowest in the full 37-year record. Down 8.0% on the week and 12.8% over 30 days, so the level is a floor and the pace is still accelerating.
LME aluminum stocks slipped to 246,225 mt, the lowest in the 19-year record. The daily move is tiny at 0.2%, but the 30-day drain runs 6.3%.
The share of COMEX gold classed as deliverable rose to 55.2%, an 8-month high, up 1.1% on the day and 2.9% over 30 days. The history here is only a few months deep.
LME lead stocks stand at 399,600 mt, the 99th percentile of the 19-year record, near the top of the range. Yet they are draining, down 1.3% on the day and 8.9% over 30 days.
COMEX copper stocks reached 764,597 short tons, an 8-month high, up 0.3% on the day and 6.6% over 30 days. This record runs only a few months back.
COMEX registered platinum holds at 191K oz, an 8-month low, flat on the day and down 2.5% over 30 days. The series history is short.
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 lone build on an otherwise draining energy board.
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.