SMASH Recycling Morning Metals Report – September 14, 2026

[DATA ALERT: Silver: settled +0.87% away from the 2026-09-11 morning print ($63.95 -> $64.50) — this move was never published in an article (unpublished settle step); Palladium: settled -0.93% away from the 2026-09-11 morning print ($1,292.00 -> $1,280.00) — this move was never published in an article (unpublished settle step); Rhodium: settled -1.02% away from the 2026-09-11 morning print ($9,825.00 -> $9,725.00) — this move was never published in an article (unpublished settle step) — verify before publishing]

Prices as of September 14, 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 — $4,285/oz ▼
• Silver — $63.02/oz ▼
• PGMs — Rh ▼ $9,675 · Pt ▼ $1,762 · Pd ▼ $1,269
• Copper — $6.42/lb ▼
• Aluminum — $1.47/lb ▼
• Steel Scrap — $413.00/mt ▸
• Macro Backdrop
• CAD — USD/CAD 1.3866

SMASH Recycling Takeaways for Today

• Gold & Silver — Prices are sliding, and my last “steady” call was wrong, so treat cats and jewelry as tradeable, not something to hoard; move well-documented, high-yield material on firm bids, but don’t chase every lowball today.
• PGMs — All PGMs are down, and my “no big move” view on gold spilled over here too, so tighten your converter grading, use VIN lookup and photo documentation, and run competitive auctions instead of locking into one buyer on full loads.
• Copper — Copper dropped about 6% since I said “hold the marginal stuff,” that was wrong; today, clear inventory, split clean and mixed, and use auctions to test real demand instead of guessing off last week’s number.
• Aluminum — Aluminum is lower and my “ticks higher soon” call missed; with a soft tape, focus on clean segregated loads, tight packing lists, and move material when you see solid bids rather than waiting for a pop that isn’t here yet.
• Big Picture — 7 of 8 tracked metals are down and steel is flat, so you should assume weaker sheets today and lean on competition, data, and SMASH auctions for price discovery instead of trusting one phone quote.

Macro Backdrop — Energy and Risk

Brent Crude Oil: $107.98/bbl, up $3.56 (+3.41%) day-over-day.

US Dollar Index (DXY): 99.52, up 0.75 (+0.76%) day-over-day.

**Energy is pushing costs up, and the dollar is turning into a bigger risk.**

Brent is back above **$107** and jumped over **3%** in a day. That puts more pressure under diesel, furnace oil, and every mile you haul a load. High and rising real yields and a firm dollar make gold and silver trade heavy, even as energy stays hot.

The **U.S. dollar** is stronger on the index and firm against CAD. That helps export yards on paper, but it can squeeze offshore buyers and slow bids if risk goes up. Net: fuel and financing costs are rising while FX and rates add more noise. Stay tight on freight math and watch how your buyers react to this dollar move.

Gold — Safe-Haven Indicator

• Spot Gold (XAU): $4,285/oz, down $63.00 (-1.45%) day-over-day. Previous close: $4,348/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Gold is still rich, but the tape is soft today.** Spot gold is at **$4,285/oz**, down **$63** and off **1.45%**. For scrap sellers, the bigger story is the fade: **3 of the last 5 sessions** have been lower, so don’t chase a weak bid.

Silver — Industrial & Precious Hybrid

• Spot Silver (XAG): $63.02/oz, down $1.49 (-2.31%) day-over-day. Previous close: $64.50/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Gold/Silver ratio: 68.0:1.

**Silver is soft again, and scrap sellers need to respect that.** At **$63.02/oz**, silver is down **$1.4890** today, with a **2.31%** drop and a **3-of-5 session** downtrend. The stronger dollar and higher energy costs are still pressuring the board, so this is a good time to watch bids closely and move clean material only when the spread makes sense.

Precious Metals (PGM) — Screen Indicators

• Platinum (Pt): $1,762/oz, down $30.00 (-1.67%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,792/oz. MoM: +1.4%.
• Platinum 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Palladium (Pd): $1,269/oz, down $11.00 (-0.86%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,280/oz. MoM: -4.6%.
• Palladium 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Rhodium (Rh): $9,675/oz, down $50.00 (-0.51%) day-over-day. Previous close: $9,725/oz. MoM: +11.0%.
• Rhodium 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.

PGMs are soft today, so expect **more cautious cat bids** from buyers. Platinum and palladium are both drifting down, while rhodium is holding higher but choppy, so you should expect tighter spreads and more focus on clean inventory, photos, and clear BOLs to get decent numbers.

Copper — Current Indicators

• COMEX/Spot Copper: $6.42/lb, down $0.1360 (-2.07%) day-over-day. Previous close: $6.56/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.

Copper is **down to about $6.42/lb**, off roughly 14 cents today, even though energy and the dollar are both pushing costs higher. You’ve now seen copper drop about 6% since last week, so move clean, high-grade material with strong bids and be picky on marginal cats and mixed wire.

Aluminum — Current Indicators

• LME Aluminum: $3,248/tonne ($1.47/lb), down $0.0040 (-0.27%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1.48/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Aluminum is slipping, not crashing — you need to respect the drift.** Aluminum is down to about **$1.47/lb**, off less than a cent today and lower in 3 of the last 5 sessions. With energy costs pushing up and the dollar getting stronger, buyers have more excuses to shade bids, so plan your loads and paperwork, but don’t rush to dump marginal material on every dip.

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.