Physical Desk
Lead in London warehouses is near the top of its whole history, now at 424,575 mt.
Straight from the world's exchanges and official data. Updated daily.
Data as of August 7, 2026 ⓘ
On the desk today
The other readings moving right now.
Inventory
26.71M oz
This market is draining faster than it was, now at 26.71M oz.
Stocks
304.8 MM bbl
The US emergency oil reserve is at its lowest since 1983, now at 304.8 MM bbl.
Inventory
722,839 short tons
Copper in COMEX vaults is up 7% this month, now at 722,839 short tons.
Net position
75,758 contracts
Copper in speculator positioning is at its highest since 2021, now at 75,758 contracts.
Price
¥23,947/g
Gold in the Tokyo retail market is near the top of its whole history, now at ¥23,947/g.
The flows right now
What's draining and building across the world's vaults. Pick a window.
Gold in COMEX vaults
Registered
14.2M oz
▼ 4%
Draining, down 4% over the last 30 days.
as of Thu Aug 6
Silver in COMEX vaults
Registered
99.8M oz
▲ 7%
Building, up 7% over the last 30 days.
as of Thu Aug 6
U.S. emergency oil reserve
SPR crude
305M bbl
▼ 6%
Draining, down 6% over the last 30 days. Lowest since 1983.
as of Fri Jul 31
Copper in COMEX vaults
Total stock
723K oz
▲ 7%
Building, up 7% over the last 30 days.
as of Thu Aug 6
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Ask the data
Start with a question. Each one opens the page that answers it.
Global Benchmarks
Live spot, futures, and retail prints across the world's major precious-metals venues, normalized to USD per troy ounce against ECB daily FX. Premium (or discount) is shown against COMEX front-month.
Why do venue premiums differ? Often the answer is tax. See the gold tax map, every rate sourced. · Sales tax on gold & silver by state
Gold
See all venues
| COMEX (front) front | $4,400 | — | Aug 7 |
| taiwan retail retail_buy | — | — | Aug 7 |
| taiwan retail retail | — | — | Aug 7 |
| Shanghai (spot ref) spot ⚡ | $4,241 | -3.62% | Aug 8 |
|
India retail (IBJA)
retail
ex-tax; India's 15% import duty + 3% GST puts the street price near +14.43%
|
$4,888 | -3.40% | Aug 7 |
| London (LBMA AM) AM fix | $4,302 | -2.22% | Aug 7 |
| London (LBMA PM) PM fix | $4,336 | -1.46% | Aug 7 |
| Shanghai SHFE front | $4,341 | -1.34% | Aug 8 |
|
Tokyo retail (Tanaka)
retail
ex-tax; Japan's 10% consumption tax puts the street price near +8.65%
|
$4,780 | -1.23% | 01:58 UTC |
Silver
See all venues
| COMEX (front) front | $63.50 | — | Aug 7 |
|
Tokyo retail (Tanaka)
retail
⚡
ex-tax; Japan's 10% consumption tax puts the street price near +15.63%
|
$73.43 | +5.12% | 01:58 UTC |
|
India retail (IBJA)
retail
ex-tax; India's 15% import duty + 3% GST puts the street price near +22.61%
|
$75.59 | +3.51% | Aug 7 |
| Shanghai (spot ref) spot | $61.51 | -3.13% | Aug 8 |
| London (LBMA PM) PM fix | $64.32 | +1.29% | Aug 7 |
|
Shanghai SHFE
front
ex-tax; China's 13% VAT puts the street price near +12.16%
|
$71.22 | -0.75% | Aug 8 |
Platinum
See all venues
| COMEX (front) front | $1,760 | — | Aug 7 |
|
Tokyo retail (Tanaka)
retail
⚡
ex-tax; Japan's 10% consumption tax puts the street price near +13.56%
|
$1,998 | +3.24% | 01:58 UTC |
| London (LBMA PM) PM fix | $1,748 | -0.65% | Aug 7 |
Palladium
See all venues
| COMEX (front) front | $1,378 | — | Aug 7 |
| London (LBMA PM) PM fix | $1,378 | -0.04% | Aug 7 |
Tax basis: the premiums above for India retail (IBJA), Tokyo retail (Tanaka), and Shanghai SHFE silver are shown EX-TAX, with the local tax stripped out, so they compare like-for-like with COMEX. A local buyer also pays the tax: India's 15% import duty plus a separate 3% GST (the IBJA rate already includes the duty since May 13, 2026), Japan's 10% consumption tax, and China's 13% VAT on SHFE silver (SGE/SHFE standard gold trades VAT-exempt). Adding that tax back approximates the local street price. London (LBMA) and COMEX are wholesale prices with no tax included.
Sources: LBMA (London fix), Yahoo Finance (COMEX futures), Sina Finance (SHFE + Asian spot reference), Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo (Japan retail), India Bullion and Jewellers Association (India retail). FX: ECB daily reference rates.
From the Desk
The Desk is most bullish on copper right now.
Copper is where the visible-supply story is cleanest this week. LME on-warrant stocks sat at 244K metric tonnes on 2026-08-03, which marks the 90-day low on a band running from 244K up to 401K. Set that against the 398K metric tonnes recorded on 2026-05-06, and the drawdown is roughly a third of the available warranted metal in about three months. When the freely deliverable pool thins to the bottom of its quarterly range, it signals real off-take pulling units out of warehouses rather than paper churn. That is the demand read I trust here, and it is why copper tops my list.
The Vault Report Desk, written with AI assistance
Common questions
- What is the difference between registered and eligible gold?
- Registered metal is backed by a warehouse receipt (warrant) and can be delivered against a futures contract right now. Eligible metal meets exchange specs and sits in the same vaults but has no active warrant, so it is not immediately deliverable. Registered is the supply that can settle today; eligible is on the sidelines until its owner chooses to register it.
- What is the gold/silver ratio?
- The gold/silver ratio is the price of one ounce of gold divided by the price of one ounce of silver — it tells you how many ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold. A higher ratio means silver is relatively cheaper to gold; a lower ratio means the opposite. Stackers watch it as a relative-value gauge between the two metals.
- What is on-warrant stock on the LME?
- On-warrant stock is metal in LME-approved warehouses that is backed by a live warrant and available to settle contracts. It is the most liquid, immediately deliverable form of LME inventory and the figure most watched for squeeze risk.
- How much oil is in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
- The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is the US government's emergency crude stockpile, stored in salt caverns along the Gulf Coast. Its current level, all-time high, all-time low, and post-fill-era low are shown above in millions of barrels, sourced weekly from the EIA. The level changes with drawdowns and refills, so check the as-of date for the latest reading.
About The Vault Report
"The data that moves metals and energy markets has always lived behind terminals and trading-desk screenshots. The Vault Report brings it into the open: the physical commodity flows behind the headlines, from metals warehouses to the nation's oil reserves."
Updated daily, straight from the official reports. CME Group, the London Metal Exchange, and the EIA. Covers COMEX and LME warehouse inventory, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, COT positioning, and ETF flows.