SMASH Recycling Morning Metals Report – August 25, 2026

Prices as of August 25, 2026 at 07:31 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.

Jump to:

• Gold — $4,635/oz ▼
• Silver — $67.89/oz ▼
• PGMs — Rh ▸ $8,800 · Pt ▼ $1,841 · Pd ▼ $1,310
• Copper — $6.64/lb ▲
• Aluminum — $1.46/lb ▼
• Steel Scrap — $413.00/mt ▸
• Macro Backdrop
• CAD — USD/CAD 1.3842

SMASH Recycling Takeaways for Today

• Gold & Silver — Use the dip to clear thin, ugly, or mixed precious loads; hold back your clean, documented high-grade for tighter spreads.
• PGMs — With platinum and palladium down and rhodium flat, move low-grade cats and cores now, but photo and VIN every load to keep buyers confident if this slide deepens.
• Copper — I called copper wrong last time; with today’s pop, move borderline and mixed copper instead of betting on another leg higher.
• Aluminum — Price is basically flat after last week’s tiny lift, so keep pushing dirty and mixed aluminum out the door rather than stockpiling.
• Big Picture — Only 1 of 8 metals is up today, so treat this as a selling market for problem loads, not a holding market for marginal material.

Macro Backdrop — Energy and Risk

Brent Crude Oil: $87.96/bbl, down $4.11 (-4.46%) day-over-day.

US Dollar Index (DXY): 99.01, up 0.11 (+0.11%) day-over-day.

**Oil just took a $4 hit. That’s not nothing.**

Brent is back under $90 after a 4%+ drop, which takes some heat off diesel and yard fuel costs for now. But 10Y and 2Y yields are both pushing higher, so money is still not “cheap,” and risk isn’t off the table yet. The dollar index is inching up again, so export buyers paying in USD stay under some pressure, even with USD/CAD near 1.38.

Inflation expectations are drifting lower while the Fed rate holds steady, which keeps that slow-grind, wait-and-see mood in risk assets. Gold has been trading as a safety valve when real yields move, so keep one eye on the 10Y minus inflation and one eye on your hedges. Bottom line for scrap: fuel relief at the pump, but funding costs and FX still keep risk high.

Gold — Safe-Haven Indicator

• Spot Gold (XAU): $4,635/oz, down $25.40 (-0.55%) day-over-day. Previous close: $4,660/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 4 of last 5 sessions.

**Gold is still hot, but this pullback matters.** Price is down $25.40 to $4,635 an ounce, yet it has still closed higher in 4 of the last 5 sessions. For scrap sellers, clean, well-documented gold lots still draw serious buyer attention, but the stronger dollar and the fresh oil drop can cool the bid mood fast.

Silver — Industrial & Precious Hybrid

• Spot Silver (XAG): $67.89/oz, down $1.13 (-1.64%) day-over-day. Previous close: $69.02/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 4 of last 5 sessions.
• Gold/Silver ratio: 68.3:1.

Silver is **down to $67.89/oz**, but it’s still holding near recent highs with 4 up days in the last week. The stronger dollar and that $4 hit to oil are taking some steam out of silver today, so expect buyers to push harder on price. If you’re selling clean silver scrap, coins, or cores, tighter documentation and photos still help buyers step up on bids.

Precious Metals (PGM) — Screen Indicators

• Platinum (Pt): $1,841/oz, down $38.00 (-2.02%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,879/oz. MoM: +16.1%.
• Platinum 5-day trend: ↑ 4 of last 5 sessions.
• Palladium (Pd): $1,310/oz, down $32.00 (-2.38%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,342/oz. MoM: +6.8%.
• 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: → flat over last 5 sessions.

**PGM prices are soft today, so treat this like a two-way market, not a fire sale.** Platinum and palladium are both down a couple percent, even after decent 5-day runs, so buyers may push for discounts on cats and PGM-heavy loads. Rhodium is flat and calm, and with oil around $88 and the dollar a bit stronger, this feels more like normal chop than a panic move, so price tight and lean on your assays and paperwork.

Copper — Current Indicators

• COMEX/Spot Copper: $6.64/lb, up +$0.0340 (+0.51%) day-over-day. Previous close: $6.61/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 4 of last 5 sessions.

**Copper is holding up at $6.64/lb, but the tone is not hot enough to chase.** It’s up about 3 cents today and has closed higher in 4 of the last 5 sessions, so clean copper still has buyers watching. With oil off hard and the dollar a bit firmer, this looks more like steady price discovery than a runaway move.

Aluminum — Current Indicators

• LME Aluminum: $3,214/tonne ($1.46/lb), down $0.0020 (-0.14%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1.46/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.

Aluminum slipped again, but just a hair — about a quarter cent, now around **$1.46/lb**, down 3 of the last 5 sessions. With oil still high and the dollar firm, mills stay cautious, so if you’re heavy on mixed or dirty aluminum, it may make sense to move borderline material instead of waiting for a big snap-back that’s not here yet.

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.