SMASH Recycling Morning Metals Report – July 16, 2026

Prices as of July 16, 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 — $4,021/oz ▼
• Silver — $56.37/oz ▼
• PGMs — Rh ▸ $8,100 · Pt ▼ $1,636 · Pd ▼ $1,259
• Copper — $6.38/lb ▲
• Aluminum — $1.44/lb ▲
• Steel Scrap — $413.00/mt ▸
• Macro Backdrop
• CAD — USD/CAD 1.4049

SMASH Recycling Takeaways for Today

• Gold & Silver — With both down today, don’t rush cats and jewelry; sort and hold unless you’ve got committed buyers needing volume.
• PGMs — Platinum and palladium are sliding while rhodium’s flat; slow-roll converter loads, push buyers to sharpen bids before you dump inventory.
• Copper — Price is basically flat; keep moving clean #1 and #2, but don’t sit on borderline material hoping for a near-term pop.
• Aluminum — Up about a cent; this is a good day to move mixed clips and cast, and tighten your grading to capture the bump.
• Big Picture — Precious metals are soft, base metals are mixed — use auctions and multiple buyers, not one call, to find the real market.

Macro Backdrop — Energy and Risk

Brent Crude Oil: $85.48/bbl, down $0.1300 (-0.15%) day-over-day.

US Dollar Index (DXY): 100.54, down 0.74 (-0.73%) day-over-day.

**Energy is firm, but the real risk today is rates, not oil.**

Brent is holding near **$85.50**, barely off this morning, so fuel costs stay high for yards and truckers.[6] The U.S. dollar is a bit softer on the day, with the dollar index down about **0.7%**, which generally helps commodities and metals on the margin.[2]

The bigger story is **yields still elevated**. The 10‑year sits around **4.6%** and real yields are near **2.35%**, so money is not cheap and that keeps pressure on metal prices and bigger capex plans.[3][1] Inflation expectations are drifting lower and the Fed rate is unchanged, which points to a cautious backdrop rather than panic.[4] For you, that means stay tight on spreads, watch fuel and freight, and expect more of this “slow grind” risk environment than big macro shocks.

Gold — Safe-Haven Indicator

• Spot Gold (XAU): $4,021/oz, down $37.50 (-0.92%) day-over-day. Previous close: $4,059/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Gold is slipping, but it’s not falling apart.** Gold is around **$4,021/oz**, down about 1% today and weaker in **3 of the last 5 sessions**, so don’t expect hero bids on cats and gold-bearing scrap right now.[1][2] With Brent crude holding near **$85.48/bbl**, fuel stays expensive, so you want tight loads, clean paperwork, and documented gold content to keep buyers confident and focused on the metal, not your freight.[1]

Silver — Industrial & Precious Hybrid

• Spot Silver (XAG): $56.37/oz, down $1.45 (-2.51%) day-over-day. Previous close: $57.82/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↓ 4 of last 5 sessions.
• Gold/Silver ratio: 71.3:1.

Silver is **down today**, trading around **$56.37/oz**, off about 2.5% and weak in 4 of the last 5 sessions.[1][3] The gold/silver ratio near **71:1** says silver is lagging gold, and with rates still the main macro risk, you should expect choppy pricing when you move your silver loads.[1][3]

Precious Metals (PGM) — Screen Indicators

• Platinum (Pt): $1,636/oz, down $38.00 (-2.27%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,674/oz. MoM: -9.2%.
• Platinum 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Palladium (Pd): $1,259/oz, down $40.00 (-3.08%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,299/oz. MoM: -5.9%.
• Palladium 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Rhodium (Rh): $8,100/oz, flat day-over-day. Previous close: $8,100/oz. MoM: +1.2%.
• Rhodium 5-day trend: ↓ 1 of last 5 sessions.

**PGMs are soft today, so treat converter loads with care.** Platinum and palladium are both down a few percent, even though they’ve bounced in three of the last five sessions, so this still feels like a buyers’ market, not a rip-your-cats week for sellers.[6] Rhodium is holding flat but has only had one down day recently, so if you don’t have to move volume, you can afford to be picky and shop bids while rates, not oil, stay the main macro risk.

Copper — Current Indicators

• COMEX/Spot Copper: $6.38/lb, up +$0.0005 (+0.01%) day-over-day. Previous close: $6.38/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 4 of last 5 sessions.

Copper is sitting around **$6.38/lb**, basically flat, but it’s ticked up in 4 of the last 5 sessions.[2][6] For you, that means copper is still strong, fuel costs stay high with Brent near **$85.48/bbl**, and this slow grind up favors steady, well-documented loads over wild price bets.[6]

Aluminum — Current Indicators

• LME Aluminum: $3,171/tonne ($1.44/lb), up +$0.0107 (+0.75%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1.43/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Aluminum’s up today, but not enough to get greedy.** Aluminum is around **$1.44/lb**, up about a penny, with 3 of the last 5 sessions closing higher.[1][5] Energy costs are still firm with Brent near **$85.50/bbl**, so yards and truckers feel the fuel pinch, but the real pressure on metals right now is higher interest rates, not oil.[5]

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): $378.00/mt (up +$12.00 (+3.28%) 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.