Smash Scrap Morning Metals Report – August 19, 2026

Prices as of August 19, 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 — $4,368/oz ▲
• Silver — $63.80/oz ▲
• PGMs — Rh ▸ $8,800 · Pt ▲ $1,732 · Pd ▲ $1,272
• Copper — $6.43/lb ▼
• Aluminum — $1.46/lb ▼
• Steel Scrap — $413.00/mt ▸
• Macro Backdrop
• CAD — USD/CAD 1.3889

Smash Scrap Takeaways for Today

• Gold & Silver — Use firmer prices to push better payouts on clean jewelry, flatware, and e-waste, but don’t chase loads.
• PGMs — With platinum and palladium up and rhodium flat, tighten cat grading and photo docs to attract more serious buyers.
• Copper — Price is a bit softer, so focus on stripped, clean wire and separate #1/#2 to avoid leaving money in mixed tubs.
• Aluminum — Down move supports yesterday’s call: keep dirty and mixed alu off the scale, and ship sorted, clean loads only.
• Big Picture — Four metals up, two down, two flat: the market still rewards clean, documented inventory and tight pricing discipline.

Macro Backdrop — Energy and Risk

Brent Crude Oil: $91.33/bbl, up $0.0200 (+0.02%) day-over-day.

US Dollar Index (DXY): 99.37, down 0.30 (-0.30%) day-over-day.

**Oil is still over $90. Risk is still real. This is not a cheap energy tape.**

Brent sits at **$91.33**, basically flat, but still high enough to bite your shredder and trucking costs. The dollar index is softer at **99.37**, but USD/CAD at **1.3889** keeps cross‑border fuel and parts pricey for you.

Rates stay tight: **10Y at 4.72%**, **2Y at 4.19%**, real 10Y near **2.4%**. Inflation expectations at **2.3%** say the Fed can sit tight at **3.63%**, but not pivot fast if things crack.

Net for you: energy costs remain a headwind, and the macro backdrop still rewards **risk management over big bets**. Stay tight on buy prices and lock in freight early; this is not the week to get cute with margin.

Gold — Safe-Haven Indicator

• Spot Gold (XAU): $4,368/oz, up +$35.00 (+0.81%) day-over-day. Previous close: $4,333/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.

Gold is still grinding higher, now around **$4,368/oz**, up about **0.8%** today. Oil is still over $90 and the dollar is a bit softer, so buyers are staying interested in gold, but this is a steady climb, not a runaway move. For you, treat gold cats, boards, and dental as premium: tighten your testing, document each lot, and price carefully instead of chasing every tick.

Silver — Industrial & Precious Hybrid

• Spot Silver (XAG): $63.80/oz, up +$0.6245 (+0.99%) day-over-day. Previous close: $63.17/oz.
• 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Gold/Silver ratio: 68.5:1.

Silver is up again, sitting around **$63.80/oz**, about 62 cents higher today. The move is small but steady, with prices up in 3 of the last 5 sessions and the gold/silver ratio near **68.5:1**, so your clean silver lots, coins, and higher-grade cores deserve a second look before you dump them at last week’s number.

Precious Metals (PGM) — Screen Indicators

• Platinum (Pt): $1,732/oz, up +$28.00 (+1.64%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,704/oz. MoM: +9.2%.
• Platinum 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Palladium (Pd): $1,272/oz, up +$5.00 (+0.39%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1,267/oz. MoM: +2.8%.
• Palladium 5-day trend: ↑ 3 of last 5 sessions.
• Rhodium (Rh): $8,800/oz, flat day-over-day. Previous close: $8,800/oz. MoM: +7.3%.
• Rhodium 5-day trend: ↑ 1 of last 5 sessions.

Platinum and palladium are both **drifting higher**, while rhodium is **holding flat**, so PGM cats still have a bid. With oil over $90 and costs up, this is a decent tape to **move clean, documented converter loads**, not sit on them and guess the market.

Copper — Current Indicators

• COMEX/Spot Copper: $6.43/lb, down $0.0230 (-0.36%) day-over-day. Previous close: $6.45/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Copper is still rich, but it’s slipping, so buyers have the upper hand today.** Copper’s around **$6.43/lb**, down about 2 cents and lower in 3 of the last 5 sessions. With oil over $90 and your costs staying high, this is not the day to get cute on price guesses—clean, well-documented copper and tight BOLs will help you stand out even in a softer tape.

Aluminum — Current Indicators

• LME Aluminum: $3,210/tonne ($1.46/lb), down $0.0031 (-0.21%) day-over-day. Previous close: $1.46/lb.
• 5-day trend: ↓ 3 of last 5 sessions.

**Aluminum’s soft slide is telling you to tighten up your loads.** Aluminum is at **$1.46/lb**, down less than a cent today and lower in 3 of the last 5 sessions. With oil still over $90 and the dollar easing, buyers can be picky, so clean, well-sorted aluminum and good photos matter even more.

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 Scrap and let vetted buyers compete for your scrap.