SMASH Recycling Morning Metals Report – August 17, 2026
Prices as of August 17, 2026 at 07:32 AM CDT.
Market screen levels only — not yard pay prices. Actual buy prices at the scale will differ based on grade, moisture, contamination, and freight. The scrolling ticker at the top of this page shows live prices and may differ from the snapshot below.
All tracked metals are higher today.
Jump to:
- Gold — $4,383/oz ▲
- Silver — $65.56/oz ▲
- PGMs — Rh ▸ $8,800 · Pt ▲ $1,752 · Pd ▲ $1,304
- Copper — $6.66/lb ▲
- Aluminum — $1.48/lb ▲
- Steel Scrap — $413.00/mt ▸
- Macro Backdrop
- CAD — USD/CAD 1.3875
SMASH Recycling Takeaways for Today
- Gold & Silver — Hold clean, high-value precious metal lots tight. Gold cooled a bit, but silver is still pushing and looks stronger than gold right now. Get your best sorted material in front of multiple buyers, not one call.
- PGMs — Sell clean PGM-bearing material with full ID and photo docs. Platinum and palladium are both higher, and rhodium is flat. Buyers pay better when your lots are traceable and easy to verify.
- Copper — Move copper-heavy loads now if they are ready. Copper is up again, so don’t sit on good wire, clips, or bare bright while the market is firm.
- Aluminum — Keep sorted aluminum separate and don’t blend good grades with trash. The market is higher today, but buyers still punish dirty material. Clean clips, extrusion, and sorted non-ferrous get the best look.
- Big Picture — 6 higher and 2 flat keeps the tape constructive, so sellers should use the bounce, price clean, and let competition find the market.
Macro Backdrop — Energy and Risk
Brent Crude Oil: $88.65/bbl, up $0.0600 (+0.07%) day-over-day.
US Dollar Index (DXY): 99.46, down 0.55 (-0.55%) day-over-day.
**Energy is firm, but the real action is in rates and the dollar.**
Oil is holding strong. Brent is around **$88.65**, WTI near **$84.77**, both edging higher, which keeps fuel and freight costs tight for yards and buyers.[Brent][WTI]
The risk side is louder than the energy move today. The **10Y yield** slipped to **4.63%**, but **real yields** are still high at **2.36%**, which tends to lean against gold and silver.[10Y][Real10Y] The **US Dollar Index** is softer at **99.46**, and FX pairs like **USD/CAD**, **USDZAR**, and **USDCNY** are easing a bit, which can help dollar‑priced metals feel a bit less heavy for foreign buyers.[DXY][USDZAR][USDCNY][USDCAD]
Stay focused on energy costs and real yields. That combo still drives risk appetite and how aggressive buyers get on your cats, cores, and non‑ferrous.
Gold — Safe-Haven Indicator
- Spot Gold (XAU): $4,383/oz, up +$7.80 (+0.18%) day-over-day. Previous close: $4,376/oz.
- 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
**Gold is still firm, but don’t chase it.** It’s at **$4,383/oz**, up **$7.80** on the day, but only **3 of the last 5 sessions** have been higher. With the **dollar softer** and oil holding at **$88.65/bbl**, this is a market that can stay supported, but it can also pull back fast.
Silver — Industrial & Precious Hybrid
- Spot Silver (XAG): $65.56/oz, up +$0.8580 (+1.33%) day-over-day. Previous close: $64.70/oz.
- 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
- Gold/Silver ratio: 66.9:1.
Silver is up again, trading around **$65.56/oz**, with a steady 5-day uptrend and a 1.33% gain today. You’re still getting a wide **gold/silver ratio near 67:1**, so silver looks cheap versus gold, and competition between buyers can help reveal the real market on clean silver scrap.
Precious Metals (PGM) — Screen Indicators
- Platinum (Pt): $1,752/oz, up +$7.00 (+0.40%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,745/oz. MoM: +10.2%.
- Platinum 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
- Palladium (Pd): $1,304/oz, up +$6.00 (+0.46%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,298/oz. MoM: +6.0%.
- Palladium 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
- Rhodium (Rh): $8,800/oz, flat day-over-day. Previous close: $8,800/oz. MoM: +6.7%.
- Rhodium 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
PGMs are firm today, but not running away from you. Platinum and palladium are both inching higher, while rhodium is holding flat, so cats with good load mix still have solid value and buyers have clear benchmarks to work from in auctions. With the dollar easing and oil steady, this feels more like a steady tape than a panic, which means you can focus on clean inventory, photo documentation, and real competition on SMASH instead of guessing where the market is.
Copper — Current Indicators
- COMEX/Spot Copper: $6.66/lb, up +$0.0505 (+0.76%) day-over-day. Previous close: $6.61/lb.
- 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
Copper is up again, sitting around **$6.66/lb**, with a small but steady gain today. Oil is firm at about **$88.65/bbl**, and the softer dollar is helping keep copper supported, with buyers still active.
Aluminum — Current Indicators
- LME Aluminum: $3,272/tonne ($1.48/lb), up +$0.0109 (+0.74%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1.47/lb.
- 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
Aluminum is up today around **$1.48/lb**, adding about a cent, with **3 green days in the last 5**. Oil is firm and the dollar is softer, so support is there, but this is still a grind, not a breakout—use the bump to move clean, documented aluminum while bids are steady, not after the next pullback.
Steel Scrap (Shredded (SHS), scrapmonster) — Current Indicators
- Steel Scrap Shredded (SHS) (SCRAP-SHS): $413.00/mt, flat day-over-day. Previous close: $413.00/mt.
- 5-day trend: → flat over last 5 sessions.
- HMS 1&2 (80:20) (SCRAP-HM): $366.00/mt (flat day-over-day).
Want to move PGM-bearing material, copper, aluminum, or steel scrap through competitive bidding? List your lots on SMASH Recycling and let vetted Canadian buyers compete for your scrap.
