SMASH Recycling Morning Metals Report – July 2, 2026

Prices as of July 02, 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 — $4,068/oz ▲
• Silver — $59.75/oz ▲
• PGMs — Rh ▲ $7,900 · Pt ▲ $1,601 · Pd ▲ $1,225
• Copper — $6.14/lb ▼
• Aluminum — $1.39/lb ▼
• Steel Scrap — $413.00/mt ▸
• Macro Backdrop
• CAD — USD/CAD 1.4210

SMASH Recycling Takeaways for Today

• Gold & Silver — Use today’s pop to move clean cats, karat, and silver jewelry; tighten spreads but don’t chase every tiny flake.
• PGMs — Strong jump in platinum, palladium, and rhodium: push full-load sales on converters and PGM cores, not partial pallets.
• Copper — With price slipping, slow-roll heavy copper and wire where you can; don’t slash yard buy prices until you see a real trend, not one red day.
• Aluminum — With Al down, focus on volume and clean separation; move mixed and dirty grades faster so you’re not stuck if this slide continues.
• Big Picture — Precious up, base down, steel flat: expect tighter bids on non‑ferrous while cat and high-grade precious material stay in demand.

Macro Backdrop — Energy and Risk

Brent Crude Oil: $70.23/bbl, down $3.12 (-4.25%) day-over-day.

US Dollar Index (DXY): 101.20, up 0.09 (+0.09%) day-over-day.

**Energy got hit. Risk is still humming in the background.**

Brent crude slid hard, down over **4%** to about **$70/bbl**, easing fuel costs but hinting at softer growth expectations. The dollar is firm, with the **DXY around 101**, and the **USD/CAD at 1.42**, so Canadian yards paid in U.S. dollars still get a small FX tailwind on export and indexed contracts.

On the risk side, **10Y and 2Y yields are grinding higher**, while **inflation expectations edge down**, so real rates are up. That’s usually a headwind for **gold and silver** and a sign money is getting tighter, not looser. Fed funds sit around **3.6%** and consumer sentiment is weak, but **industrial production and auto output are still ticking up**, which keeps baseline demand alive for steel, auto scrap, and non‑ferrous, even as the macro picture stays choppy.

Gold — Safe-Haven Indicator

• Spot Gold (XAU): $4,068/oz, up +$53.90 (+1.34%) day-over-day. Previous close: $4,014/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Gold’s moving up again, but buyers still care about quality.** Gold is around **$4,068/oz**, up about **1.3%** today and higher in **3 of the last 5 sessions**. With the dollar firm and energy getting hit, expect decent demand but tight spreads on cats, karat scrap, and e-scrap—clean, well-documented gold will move first.

Silver — Industrial & Precious Hybrid

• Spot Silver (XAG): $59.75/oz, up +$1.02 (+1.74%) day-over-day. Previous close: $58.73/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 4 of last 5 sessions.
• Gold/Silver ratio: 68.1:1.

**Silver’s grinding higher. Don’t let buyers pretend it’s flat.** Silver is around **$59.75/oz**, up about 1.7% today and green in **4 of the last 5 sessions**.[7][3] With the **gold/silver ratio near 68:1** and energy getting hit while silver climbs, you should tighten spreads and push offers higher on silver-bearing scrap, cats, and e‑scrap loads.[1][10]

Precious Metals (PGM) — Screen Indicators

• Platinum (Pt): $1,601/oz, up +$55.00 (+3.56%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,546/oz. MoM: -16.9%.
• Platinum 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Palladium (Pd): $1,225/oz, up +$31.00 (+2.60%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,194/oz. MoM: -9.4%.
• Palladium 5-day trend: ↑ 4 of last 5 sessions.
• Rhodium (Rh): $7,900/oz, up +$150.00 (+1.94%) day-over-day. Previous close: $7,750/oz. MoM: -6.5%.
• Rhodium 5-day trend: ↓ 2 of last 5 sessions.

PGM prices are **up today**, which helps your cat loads pencil out a little better. Platinum, palladium, and rhodium all moved higher, but rhodium is still choppy, so you should keep shopping bids and lean on assay-based sales instead of quick quotes.

Copper — Current Indicators

• COMEX/Spot Copper: $6.14/lb, down $0.0550 (-0.89%) day-over-day. Previous close: $6.20/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Copper is softer today, but the tape is not broken.** It sits at **$6.14/lb**, down about **6 cents**, while the **5-day trend still shows 3 up sessions**. Stronger dollar pressure and weak energy are weighing on the board, so scrap sellers should expect more choppy bids and tighter buy windows.

Aluminum — Current Indicators

• LME Aluminum: $3,065/tonne ($1.39/lb), down $0.0151 (-1.07%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1.41/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Aluminum’s soft today, but the long-term demand for your scrap is still strong.** Aluminum is at **$1.39/lb**, down about **2 cents** and lower in **3 of the last 5** sessions as a stronger US dollar and weak energy hit metals across the board.[4][5] For you, that means buyers may push harder on price this week, but EVs, autos, and manufacturing are keeping aluminum scrap in high demand, so staying disciplined on grading and timing still matters.[4][6][8]

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.