Daily Vault Briefing ·Sep 12, 2026
Managed money is stacking into copper at a five-year extreme while the physical platinum float on COMEX quietly drains to an 8-month low.
8 signals · 1 series crossed a threshold today
Managed-money net copper longs hit 82,154 contracts, the highest since Feb 2021 and the 97th percentile of a 20-year record, up 12.7% on the week. The paper positioning is one-sided and building fast.
The copper metal backs that up, but only halfway. COMEX total copper stocks sit at an 8-mo high of 767,504 short tons and registered copper at 479,003 tons, both up on the month, so the speculative crowd and the warehouse are pointing the same direction on copper.
Platinum is the mirror image. Registered platinum fell to an 8-mo low of 186K oz and coverage dropped to 5.5%, down 19.1% over 30 days, even as today's move reads flat. That gap matters: the level is at the floor of its short record while the daily tape is calm, which is the setup where a thin deliverable float is the standing risk, not the day's headline.
Note the metals that sit rich but bleed: LME lead is 98th percentile yet down 8.9% on the month, and Tokyo retail gold holds the 98th percentile of a 38-year record while slipping 4.2% over 30 days. High position, negative drift, across two unrelated series.
Speculative funds hold 82,154 net long copper contracts, the most since Feb 2021 and the 97th percentile of a 20-year record. The bet grew 12.7% in a single week.
Tokyo retail gold sits at ¥23,769/g, still the 98th percentile of a 38-year record despite easing 1.2% on the day and 4.2% over the month. The level stays elevated even as the drift is lower.
Platinum available for delivery on COMEX fell to 186K oz, an 8-month low, down 3.4% over 30 days. A thinning deliverable float leaves less cushion under the contract.
LME lead stocks are 380,025 mt, still the 98th percentile of a 19-year record, but they've drained 8.9% over the past month. The stockpile is large by history yet shrinking.
Total COMEX copper stocks reached 767,504 short tons, an 8-month high, up 5.0% over 30 days. The warehouse has been filling, not emptying.
Registered copper, the metal cleared for delivery, hit an 8-month high of 479,003 short tons, up 3.8% over the month. Deliverable supply is building alongside the paper positioning.
US jet fuel stocks are 46.0 MM bbl, the 97th percentile of a 44-year record, roughly flat on the week and down 1.8% over 30 days. Inventories sit historically full.
COMEX platinum coverage, registered metal against open claims, dropped to 5.5%, an 8-month low, down 19.1% over 30 days. Thinner coverage means less physical backing per contract.
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.