Daily Vault Briefing ·Sep 4, 2026
Distillate stocks on both US coasts are draining hard while metals inventories sit pinned near their extremes, and the split is the whole story.
8 signals · 2 series crossed a threshold today
East Coast distillate stocks (PADD 1) printed 19.3 MM bbl, the lowest in the 37-year record, down 8.0% on the week and 12.8% over 30 days. That is a level and a velocity agreeing: 0th percentile, and still falling fast.
The West Coast rhymes with it. PADD 5 distillate is at 9.9 MM bbl, 3rd percentile, down 6.7% on the week and 12.5% over 30 days. Both coasts draining double digits in a month is a shared move, not two isolated readings.
The metals board tells the opposite story. LME lead sits at the 99th percentile of its 19-year record yet is easing off, down 8.7% over 30 days, a high level with a downward drift. COMEX gold's deliverable share holds an 8-month high at 55.2% while barely moving on the day, down 0.1%, a level that is extreme but no longer accelerating.
So the tension across the board is speed against position: petroleum distillate at record lows and still bleeding, versus metals parked near their highs with the daily moves gone quiet. Tokyo retail gold at the 99th percentile of a 38-year record with a flat day is the same pattern, extreme level, calm tape.
West Coast diesel and heating-oil inventories fell to 9.9 MM bbl, the lowest since May 2025 and near the bottom 3% of a 37-year history. Down 6.7% on the week and 12.5% over 30 days.
East Coast distillate stocks hit 19.3 MM bbl, the lowest in the entire 37-year record. Down 8.0% on the week and 12.8% over 30 days, a sharp move at an already-extreme low.
The share of COMEX gold available for actual delivery reached 55.2%, an 8-month high. Flat on the day but up 4.5% over 30 days, so the level is high while the daily move has gone quiet.
COMEX copper stocks rose to 765,747 short tons, an 8-month high sitting at the top of its short history. Up 0.2% on the day and 6.5% over 30 days.
LME lead inventory sits at 396,825 mt, the 99th percentile of a 19-year record. But it is easing, down 0.7% on the day and 8.7% over 30 days, a high level drifting lower.
COMEX platinum locked in for delivery fell to 191K oz, an 8-month low. Flat on the day but down 2.5% over 30 days.
Midwest jet fuel stocks climbed to 8.2 MM bbl, the highest since Jan 2026. Up 1.8% on the week and 12.3% over 30 days, moving against the distillate drawdown.
Tokyo retail gold at Tanaka held ¥24,822/g, the 99th percentile of a 38-year record. Little changed on the day but up 8.2% over 30 days, an extreme level with a calm tape.
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.