SMASH Recycling Morning Metals Report – July 22, 2026

Prices as of July 22, 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 — $4,128/oz ▲
• Silver — $59.47/oz ▲
• PGMs — Rh ▸ $8,200 · Pt ▲ $1,650 · Pd ▲ $1,304
• Copper — $6.51/lb ▼
• Aluminum — $1.44/lb ▲
• Steel Scrap — $413.00/mt ▸
• Macro Backdrop
• CAD — USD/CAD 1.4095

SMASH Recycling Takeaways for Today

• Gold & Silver — Use the rally to clean up your gold and silver lots. Push documented, sorted, and photo-backed loads first. Messy cats still get looked at, but clean material should set the floor.[1][2]
• PGMs — Palladium is leading and platinum is also firm. Pull out any PGM-bearing cats, cores, and exhausts now. Hold tight on rhodium-heavy material if you can wait; it was flat today and does not need a rush sale.
• Copper — Copper slipped, so do not chase yesterday’s number. If you have clean copper, sell on a bid set with full weight and BOLs. Mixed copper should stay bundled until buyers show real support.
• Aluminum — Aluminum is barely higher, so the move is small. Sort out clean sheet, extrusion, and cast before you shop it. Dirty or mixed aluminum will not get the same interest as well-documented stock.
• Big Picture — 5 higher, 1 lower, 2 flat means the tape is still mostly firm, but sellers should use the strong metals to move clean loads now and keep weaker copper bundled.

Macro Backdrop — Energy and Risk

Brent Crude Oil: $84.78/bbl, down $6.80 (-7.43%) day-over-day.

US Dollar Index (DXY): 101.11, up 0.36 (+0.36%) day-over-day.

**Oil just dropped hard. That changes the math on your yard’s energy and freight costs.**

Brent crude is at **$84.78**, down almost **7.5%** in a day, giving you a bit of relief on fuel and processing costs, at least for now.[1][6] At the same time, the **U.S. dollar is firm** (DXY 101.11) and **USD/CAD is 1.41**, so cross‑border deals still favor U.S. buyers paying in USD.[1][3]

Big picture, markets still see inflation near **2.25%** and the Fed stuck around **3.6%** on rates, while auto and industrial production grind slowly higher.[1][10][13] Net result: energy is cheaper today, money is not, and the strong dollar keeps import flows competitive — good backdrop for buyers to push on price, and for you to lean on your cost advantage.

Gold — Safe-Haven Indicator

• Spot Gold (XAU): $4,128/oz, up +$46.30 (+1.13%) day-over-day. Previous close: $4,082/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Gold keeps grinding higher. Don’t let clean scrap go cheap.** Gold is around **$4,128/oz**, up about **1.1%** today and higher in **3 of the last 5 sessions**.[4][2] With the dollar firm and oil dropping, this move says buyers still want safe metal, so documented, clean gold-bearing loads should see stronger bids than messy, mixed material.[1][3]

Silver — Industrial & Precious Hybrid

• Spot Silver (XAG): $59.47/oz, up +$0.5920 (+1.01%) day-over-day. Previous close: $58.88/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 4 of last 5 sessions.
• Gold/Silver ratio: 69.4:1.

**Silver’s finally waking up, so don’t sleep on your silver-bearing scrap.** Silver is around **$59.47/oz**, up about **1% today**, with gains in **4 of the last 5 sessions**, and a still-high **gold/silver ratio near 69:1** showing silver is playing catch-up to gold. With oil dropping hard and the dollar firm, this move looks like silver carving out its own lane, so clean, well-documented silver loads should see more buyer interest than they did a week ago.

Precious Metals (PGM) — Screen Indicators

• Platinum (Pt): $1,650/oz, up +$25.00 (+1.54%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,625/oz. MoM: -1.4%.
• Platinum 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Palladium (Pd): $1,304/oz, up +$40.00 (+3.16%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,264/oz. MoM: +4.3%.
• Palladium 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Rhodium (Rh): $8,200/oz, flat day-over-day. Previous close: $8,200/oz. MoM: +2.5%.
• Rhodium 5-day trend: ↑ 2 of last 5 sessions.

**PGMs are firm today, but the easy money isn’t in converters right now.** Platinum and palladium are both up on the day, with palladium showing the stronger move, while rhodium is holding flat but still expensive at the top of the basket. With oil dropping and the dollar firm, don’t expect a big demand rush — treat PGM scrap loads as steady money, not your main upside play.

Copper — Current Indicators

• COMEX/Spot Copper: $6.51/lb, down $0.0195 (-0.30%) day-over-day. Previous close: $6.53/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Copper’s still strong, but today it’s breathing out, not breaking out.** Copper is at **$6.51/lb**, down about **2 cents** today, and has slipped in **3 of the last 5 sessions**.[3] With the US dollar up and **oil just dropped hard** at **$84.78/bbl**, some heat is coming out of metals, so expect buyers to stay picky and use auctions and bids to test where your real number is.

Aluminum — Current Indicators

• LME Aluminum: $3,185/tonne ($1.44/lb), up +$0.0082 (+0.57%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1.44/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Aluminum is up to $1.44/lb, but the move is small.** It is only up less than a cent, and the 5-day trend is positive in 3 of the last 5 sessions, so the tape is firm but not hot. With oil lower and the dollar a bit stronger, this looks like a steady market, not a breakout.

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.