SMASH Recycling Morning Metals Report – July 20, 2026

Prices as of July 20, 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 — $4,011/oz ▼
• Silver — $56.81/oz ▲
• PGMs — Rh ▸ $8,250 · Pt ▼ $1,581 · Pd ▲ $1,240
• Copper — $6.32/lb ▲
• Aluminum — $1.43/lb ▼
• Steel Scrap — $413.00/mt ▸
• Macro Backdrop
• CAD — USD/CAD 1.4014

SMASH Recycling Takeaways for Today

• Gold & Silver — With gold soft and silver up, don’t rush to dump gold cats today; focus on moving silver-bearing material while bids are firm.
• PGMs — Platinum’s slipping, palladium’s up, rhodium flat; sort cats tight, push high-palladium loads now, but don’t fire-sale mixed baskets.
• Copper — Copper’s up ~5 cents; this is a good day to move clean #1, bare bright, and coils through competitive bids instead of sitting on them.
• Aluminum — Aluminum keeps drifting down; avoid stockpiling low-grade sheet and cast, move it quickly and keep your inventory tool updated.
• Big Picture — Mixed board today: 3 metals higher, 3 lower, 2 flat, so use auctions and competition for price discovery instead of guessing on one phone call.

Macro Backdrop — Energy and Risk

Brent Crude Oil: $88.35/bbl, up $0.2600 (+0.30%) day-over-day.

US Dollar Index (DXY): 100.88, up 0.38 (+0.38%) day-over-day.

**Oil is high and risk is up. That keeps pressure on freight, shred, and steelmaking costs.**

Brent is holding near **$88** a barrel, still strong after last week’s jump. Higher fuel keeps yards and mills watching trucking and processing costs. Geopolitics stay noisy, with new talk of tougher sanctions on Iran tied into the Russia bill, which keeps a bid under oil and general risk.

The **U.S. dollar is firmer** and yields are ticking up again, with the 10‑year near **4.6%** and real yields above **2%**. That leans risk‑off and is a headwind for gold and silver, even with the Middle East tension. For scrap, this backdrop favors disciplined buying, tight turn on inventory, and using auctions to test real demand instead of guessing.

Gold — Safe-Haven Indicator

• Spot Gold (XAU): $4,011/oz, down $6.70 (-0.17%) day-over-day. Previous close: $4,017/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Gold is still rich, but it’s not ripping today.** Gold is at **$4,011/oz**, down a touch on the day, even with oil sitting high at **$88.35/bbl** and macro risk up.[4][2] The metal has inched higher in **3 of the last 5 sessions**, so you don’t need to panic-sell cats and boards, but don’t expect buyers to chase junk gold loads until the next real risk spike shows up.[4][2]

Silver — Industrial & Precious Hybrid

• Spot Silver (XAG): $56.81/oz, up +$0.8650 (+1.55%) day-over-day. Previous close: $55.94/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Gold/Silver ratio: 70.6:1.

**Silver is up, but still choppy, so don’t chase every load.** Silver is around **$56.81/oz**, up about **86 cents** today, with 3 of the last 5 sessions closing higher.[6][8] Oil is high, risk is up, and analysts say gold and silver could face another tough week as US–Iran tension and macro worries hang over the market, so treat decent bids on cats, boards, and silver-bearing scrap with respect instead of waiting for a moonshot.[4]

Precious Metals (PGM) — Screen Indicators

• Platinum (Pt): $1,581/oz, down $9.00 (-0.57%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,590/oz. MoM: -5.0%.
• Platinum 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Palladium (Pd): $1,240/oz, up +$10.00 (+0.81%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,230/oz. MoM: 0.0%.
• Palladium 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Rhodium (Rh): $8,250/oz, flat day-over-day. Previous close: $8,250/oz. MoM: +3.1%.
• Rhodium 5-day trend: ↑ 2 of last 5 sessions.

**PGM prices are choppy, so you don’t want to guess cat values right now.** Platinum is slipping, palladium is inching higher, and rhodium is holding flat, all against a backdrop of high oil and higher market risk.[1][4] For scrap sellers, this means converter loads need tight documentation and real competition between vetted buyers to reveal the true market.

Copper — Current Indicators

• COMEX/Spot Copper: $6.32/lb, up +$0.0465 (+0.74%) day-over-day. Previous close: $6.27/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Copper’s up, but it’s not sprinting.** Copper is around **$6.32/lb**, about **5 cents higher** today, and up in **3 of the last 5 sessions**. With **oil high and risk up**, buyers stay picky, so you should still push clean #1 and bare bright through **competitive bids**, not one-off phone calls.

Aluminum — Current Indicators

• LME Aluminum: $3,147/tonne ($1.43/lb), down $0.0080 (-0.56%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1.44/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Aluminum is slipping, not crashing.** Aluminum is at **$1.43/lb**, down less than a cent today and lower in 3 of the last 5 sessions. With oil high, the dollar stronger, and risk up, buyers may stay cautious, so you should expect steady to slightly softer bids on your aluminum loads.

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.