Scrap Metal Prices Oct 8, 2026: Copper Firm, Steel Mixed
Market notes · Published
This is the first Metal to Watch, our weekly read on scrap metal prices. For each of three metals it says whether the dated evidence looks firm, soft or mixed, and it shows the numbers behind the call. It is a reading of evidence, not a forecast and not a recommendation. It never tells you to hold or to sell.
Every line has a source and a date. Where we could not read a number, we say so and score that line zero instead of filling the gap.
The short version of this week's scrap metal prices
- Copper: firm. The official scrap index was 993.347 in August, up 4.2 percent on July, and supervisors at Chile's Escondida mine voted for a strike, reported October 1, with mediation first. The exchange line scores zero because we could not read a month of history.
- Aluminum: mixed, leaning firm. The official index rose 1.2 percent in August. We found no exchange reading or dated news item we can cite, so those lines score zero.
- Steel and iron: mixed. The official index fell 1.5 percent in August, while a trade report on October 6 says ferrous scrap prices appear up in October.
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How we read scrap metal prices
For each metal we score three lines of dated evidence, plus one for firm, zero for neutral and minus one for soft. The first is the trend in the official scrap price index. The second is the exchange move over the last month, or for steel, which has no exchange price, the direction of a trade report. The third is named news from the last two weeks, such as a strike or a tariff.
The total decides the words. Plus two or three is firm, minus two or three is soft, plus one is mixed leaning firm, minus one is mixed leaning soft, and zero is mixed. The rule is written down, so the same data gives the same words next week.
The official index is the Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price index for scrap. It runs a month or more behind, and the Bureau marks the latest figures preliminary because they can be revised for up to four months.
What the score means
This card comes with every Metal to Watch, so the words mean the same thing each week.
The scorecard
Here are this week's readings, scored by that rule from the official August scrap indexes.
The card shows what each call rests on. The September readings come out on October 15.
Copper: firm
Of the three, copper is where this week's scrap metal prices have the strongest case.
The official index (plus one). Copper-base scrap was 993.347 in August, up from 953.688 in July, which is a rise of about 4.2 percent. It is about 5.3 percent above May's 943.283 and about 16 percent above January's 855.195, per the Bureau's copper-base scrap series.
The exchange (zero). COMEX, the New York copper market run by CME Group, quotes copper in dollars a pound. The December 2026 contract settled at $6.6495 on October 7, against $6.5380 on October 1, a gain of about 1.7 percent over five sessions, per the CME Group settlements page. That page keeps only the last five sessions, so we cannot show a month, and a line we cannot read scores zero.
The news (plus one). Reuters, in a report carried by Mining Weekly on October 1, 2026, said that supervisors at the BHP-run Escondida mine rejected the company's final offer, with 95 percent of voting members backing a strike, and that Chilean law requires five days of government mediation first. No strike had begun when we checked on the morning of October 8. Path to prices, our reading: a strike at the world's biggest copper mine would tighten supply on the exchanges, and the exchange price is the one U.S. yards follow for copper.
What argues the other way
Plus one, zero and plus one make plus two, so copper reads firm. Against that, five sessions are thin, the index is a month old, and the mediation may end in a deal with no strike. The reading would change if the exchange fell more than 2 percent over a month or the Escondida talks settled.
For a hauler, copper is the pile you sort carefully because it pays for the trip. For a yard it is a reason to watch how fast the posted copper price follows the index.
Aluminum: mixed, leaning firm
Aluminum is the thinnest call in this week's scrap metal prices.
The official index (plus one). Aluminum base scrap was 475.545 in August, up from 469.848 in July, about 1.2 percent. It is about 4.7 percent above May's 454.218, per the Bureau's aluminum base scrap series.
The exchange and the news (zero each). The London Metal Exchange keeps its price history behind a login, and we found no free aluminum history on an approved page. We also found no dated item from an approved source in the last two weeks that moves aluminum scrap. We do not guess, so both lines score zero.
One plus two zeros is plus one, which reads mixed, leaning firm. It is a thin call, resting on one line. It would move to firm if a dated exchange rise or a supply story appeared, and to mixed if the September index comes out flat.
Steel and iron: mixed
Steel is where scrap metal prices and the headlines disagree most.
The official index (minus one). Iron and steel scrap was 580.548 in August, down from 589.583 in July, about 1.5 percent. It is about 2.6 percent below May's 596.269 and about 5.6 percent below March's 614.795, per the Bureau's iron and steel scrap series.
The trade reports (plus one). Steel has no exchange price we can read, so this line uses the direction of the trade reports. Steel Market Update's October 6, 2026 headline is "October scrap prices seen rising in early trading," and it says ferrous scrap prices appear up in October according to preliminary reports from market sources. That is one outlet's preliminary read, so it is the least settled line.
The news (zero). We found no dated item from an approved source in the last two weeks that moves steel scrap.
Minus one, plus one and zero make zero, so steel reads mixed. The official index and the trade report point opposite ways, and we do not hide that behind a word like firm or soft.
Related reading: The official scrap index and the headline steel price are different things. Steel in the news is the price of new steel, and scrap steel follows its own market, which is why, in our reading, steel prices can rise while scrap steel prices do not.
What this means for a haul
The index is what producers are paid, not what your yard posts, so these scrap metal prices are a direction and not a quote. A yard sets its own price for each grade and changes it on its own schedule. Treat this reading as a reason to look at the board, not as a reason to change a pile.
Here is an example, not a yard price. At a posted copper price of $4.00 a pound, a rise of 4.2 percent is about 17 cents a pound, and on a 150-pound pile it is about $25. The grade you sorted and the date on the quote matter more than the size of the move.
Scrap tip: Write the grade and the date next to every quote, and keep the note. Next week you can see whether the board moved the way the index did, from your own record and not from memory.
Sort before you go, because yards post a price for each grade. The scrap rates page shows posted prices by ZIP code, and Scraplift ranks yards near you after fuel costs.
Fuel is the other half of the haul. Our fuel prices post works out when a farther yard still pays at this week's diesel price.
Related reading: Copper pays by grade, and the grade you sort is the grade you are paid for. How yards grade copper and what each grade pays lists the five grades, so a call on copper in these scrap metal prices is easier to use at the scale.
What we watch next week
On Wednesday, October 14 the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the consumer price index at 8:30 a.m., per bls.gov, and the EIA lists that day as its next fuel update, a Wednesday after the Monday holiday. On Thursday, October 15 at 8:30 a.m. the Bureau publishes the producer price index for September, the first check on these three readings.
The Escondida mediation runs in the meantime, and the Federal Reserve meets October 27 and 28, per federalreserve.gov. Last week's news on diesel, rates and copper rules has the background. The next test of these scrap metal prices is the September index.
Scrap tip: Check the posted price for your grade on the same day each week and write it down with the date. A month of one-line entries shows a trend that no single headline can.
How we will check ourselves
We keep a record of every call and its three scores, with the date and the sources. When the September index comes out on October 15 we compare it with this week's readings of scrap metal prices and print the result, right or wrong. If the readings turn out no better than chance over a few months, we stop running the feature instead of dressing it up.
The test on October 15 is plain: copper should hold or rise, aluminum should rise, and steel should move less than 1 percent either way. If a metal does the opposite, we say the call was wrong.
Scrap tip: If a call here and your yard's board disagree, trust the board. Then write down the difference with the date, because a pattern of differences shows your yard's timing.
This is general market commentary, not financial advice and not a promise. Your yard's own posted price for your grade is what you are paid. Check the date and the grade on any quote before you agree to it.
Quick answers
What do scrap metal prices look like this week?
Copper reads firm, aluminum mixed leaning firm and steel mixed. The call rests on the Bureau of Labor Statistics August scrap indexes, which are preliminary, and on dated news.
What did the scrap price indexes show last?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported August 2026 as preliminary: copper-base scrap up about 4.2 percent, aluminum base scrap up about 1.2 percent, and iron and steel scrap down about 1.5 percent.
Is this reading financial advice?
No. It is general market commentary that says what the dated evidence supports. Your yard's posted price for your grade is what you are paid.
Why does the exchange line score zero?
CME Group's public settlements page keeps five sessions, and the London Metal Exchange keeps its history behind a login. A line we cannot read scores zero.
When do the September scrap indexes come out?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the September producer price index on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 8:30 a.m.