SMASH Recycling Morning Metals Report – August 28, 2026

Prices as of August 28, 2026 at 07:30 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 — $4,600/oz ▼
• Silver — $70.34/oz ▲
• PGMs — Rh ▲ $8,850 · Pt ▲ $1,890 · Pd ▲ $1,404
• Copper — $6.73/lb ▲
• Aluminum — $1.47/lb ▲
• Steel Scrap — $413.00/mt ▸
• Macro Backdrop
• CAD — USD/CAD 1.3861

SMASH Recycling Takeaways for Today

• Gold & Silver — Gold’s soft; don’t rush cats and jewelry—tighten grading, photos, and paperwork, and lean on competition for bids.
• PGMs — Platinum, palladium, and rhodium are firm; move clean cats and cores now, but split mixed loads to highlight high-PGM material.
• Copper — With copper ticking up again, price fresh insulated and #2 loads off today’s sheet and push buyers to bid, not “ballpark.”
• Aluminum — Aluminum is barely higher; don’t chase price—bundle mill-ready and segregated cast/extrusion, and use photos to defend your number.
• Big Picture — Six of eight metals are higher and steel is flat, so expect picky buyers but more room today to walk bad offers.

Macro Backdrop — Energy and Risk

Brent Crude Oil: $87.90/bbl, down $0.7200 (-0.81%) day-over-day.

US Dollar Index (DXY): 99.20, up 0.20 (+0.20%) day-over-day.

**Energy is softer, but the risk backdrop still leans “tight money, strong dollar.”**

Brent sits around **$88/bbl** and slipped again, about 1% lower on the day and down versus last week’s print. That takes a little pressure off fuel costs, but it’s not cheap oil. Energy is still high enough to keep yard operating costs and freight in focus.

The **10Y and 2Y** are both grinding higher, with real yields around **2.3%**, and the **dollar index** ticking up. That keeps financing tight and supports a firm U.S. dollar against CAD and other currencies. Net takeaway for you: risk tone is cautious, money is not loose, and any relief is coming more from oil easing than from central banks.

Gold — Safe-Haven Indicator

• Spot Gold (XAU): $4,600/oz, down $6.30 (-0.14%) day-over-day. Previous close: $4,607/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.

Gold is **$4,600/oz and drifting lower**, down about 0.14% today. With a strong U.S. dollar and “tight money” backdrop, gold has slipped in 3 of the last 5 sessions, so don’t expect buyers to chase every mixed load. Clean, sorted gold-bearing material with photos and paperwork will still get attention, but you should assume buyers will stay picky on grading and recovery.

Silver — Industrial & Precious Hybrid

• Spot Silver (XAG): $70.34/oz, up +$0.9635 (+1.39%) day-over-day. Previous close: $69.37/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 4 of last 5 sessions.
• Gold/Silver ratio: 65.4:1.

**Silver is still grinding higher, but the dollar keeps a lid on the move.** It’s at **$70.34/oz**, up **$0.9635** on the day, and the 5-day trend is **4 of 5 sessions higher**. For scrap sellers, clean, documented silver-bearing loads still matter most when buyers stay picky and price discovery gets tight.

Precious Metals (PGM) — Screen Indicators

• Platinum (Pt): $1,890/oz, up +$43.00 (+2.33%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,847/oz. MoM: +17.0%.
• Platinum 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Palladium (Pd): $1,404/oz, up +$66.00 (+4.93%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,338/oz. MoM: +12.1%.
• Palladium 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Rhodium (Rh): $8,850/oz, up +$25.00 (+0.28%) day-over-day. Previous close: $8,825/oz. MoM: +7.3%.
• Rhodium 5-day trend: ↑ 2 of last 5 sessions.

PGMs are firm and giving you a bit more leverage today. Platinum and palladium are both up again, with three green sessions in the last week, while rhodium inches higher. With Brent still near $88 and money tight, buyers will stay picky, so clean cats, good photos, and clear packing lists matter if you want them to pay up.

Copper — Current Indicators

• COMEX/Spot Copper: $6.73/lb, up +$0.0350 (+0.52%) day-over-day. Previous close: $6.69/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 4 of last 5 sessions.

Copper is up again, around **$6.73/lb**, with prices higher in 4 of the last 5 sessions. The move is steady, not wild — about 4 cents on the day — with a strong dollar and softer energy still in the backdrop, so buyers will stay sharp on grading and paperwork. If you’ve got clean copper and good photos, this is a decent spot to test the market, not to chase it.

Aluminum — Current Indicators

• LME Aluminum: $3,240/tonne ($1.47/lb), up +$0.0017 (+0.12%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1.47/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.

Aluminum is up a hair today, but nothing life-changing at **$1.47/lb**. The move is less than a cent, with 3 green days out of the last 5, while oil sits near **$88** and money stays tight. For you, this is a “steady-to-firm” tape: don’t fire-sale your clean aluminum, but don’t expect buyers to chase junk either.

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.