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North American Precious Metal Scrap Prices Fall as Silver Drops Nearly 7%
Gold scrap prices declined across major hallmarked and non-hallmarked purity grades during the week ended September 3, 2026, while silver fell nearly 7% and platinum dropped 4% on the ScrapMonster Price Index.
By Paul Ploumis
Published September 4, 2026
Key Points
- Hallmarked 14K, 18K and 22K gold scrap fell $105.39, $135.12 and $165.03 per ounce, respectively, during the week.
- Hallmarked silver scrap declined 6.96% from the previous week's level of $51.58 per ounce, while platinum fell 4%.
- Non-hallmarked 14K, 18K and 22K gold scrap declined $99.66, $127.77 and $156.05 per ounce, respectively.
- Non-hallmarked silver fell 6.97%, while platinum declined 4% from the previous week's $1,327.95 per ounce level.
MONTREAL (Scrap Monster): North American hallmarked and non-hallmarked gold scrap prices posted week-on-week declines on the ScrapMonster Price Index during the week ended September 3, 2026. Hallmarked and non-hallmarked silver and platinum scrap prices also moved lower over the same period.
Hallmarked Gold Scrap Declines Across Major Purity Grades
Hallmarked scrap gold prices recorded a week-on-week decline.
The decline was mainly linked to lower bullion replacement values, which reduced the prices refiners and scrap buyers were willing to pay for hallmarked jewellery and other high-purity gold-bearing scrap. Increased availability of recycled gold as holders took advantage of elevated price levels also added selling pressure. Softer physical buying interest and cautious purchasing by refiners further limited bids during the week.
The weakness was reflected across multiple gold purity grades on the ScrapMonster Price Index.
Fourteen-carat scrap gold prices fell by $105.39 per ounce, while 18-carat scrap gold declined by $135.12 per ounce over the same period.
Twenty-two-carat hallmarked gold scrap recorded the largest absolute decline among the listed gold grades, falling by $165.03 per ounce week over week.
Lower-purity gold followed the same direction, with 9-carat hallmarked gold scrap falling by approximately $67.56 per ounce compared with the previous week.
Silver and Platinum Add to Precious Metals Weakness
Hallmarked silver scrap recorded a 6.96% decline from the previous week's level of $51.58 per ounce, making silver the sharpest percentage decliner among the listed hallmarked precious metals. Platinum scrap declined 4% week over week.
Underlying bullion markets were volatile rather than uniformly lower throughout the period. Reuters reported that spot gold rebounded 2.3% on September 3 after touching its lowest level since August 7 a day earlier, while spot silver rose 2.8% and platinum gained 4.2% during that session. The late-week rebound followed earlier weakness and highlights the day-to-day volatility affecting precious-metals pricing.
Hallmarked scrap gold prices are likely to remain volatile, with movements closely tied to bullion prices and scrap-supply flows.
Non-Hallmarked Gold Scrap Also Moves Lower
Non-hallmarked gold scrap weakened across all major purity grades during the week. Fourteen-carat scrap declined by $99.66 per ounce, while 18-carat and 22-carat grades recorded losses of $127.77 and $156.05 per ounce, respectively.
Nine-carat non-hallmarked gold scrap also moved lower, posting a week-on-week decline of 4.09%.
Platinum scrap prices fell 4% from the previous week's level of $1,327.95 per ounce.
Silver scrap posted an even steeper weekly decline of 6.97%.
The decline in non-hallmarked silver scrap was attributed mainly to lower underlying silver bullion prices, weaker industrial and physical buying interest, and increased availability of lower-grade scrap material, which together pressured refinery purchasing bids.
