---
title: Tungsten Will Get Its First Futures Contract After a Sixfold Jump in Western Prices
description: CME will list tungsten futures on COMEX by early 2027, settled on the Rotterdam and Baltimore APT price, which rose 575% in the year to June.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-10-21T21:47:34.341Z
updated: 2026-10-21T21:47:34.351Z
canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/tungsten-price-futures-cme-comex
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/tungsten-wolframite-ore-specimen-462186.webp
categories: Markets
content_type: News
region: Global
publication: Sovereign Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

Companies that buy tungsten outside China will be able to hedge its price on an exchange for the first time next year. CME Group plans to list tungsten futures on COMEX, one of its exchanges, with trading to start by early in the first quarter of 2027, pending regulatory review. Over the year to June, the price that buyers in Europe and the US pay for processed tungsten rose more than sixfold, and by June it was more than twice the price inside China.

The futures will be settled in cash against Fastmarkets' assessment of ammonium paratungstate (APT), an intermediate tungsten product, on a duty-unpaid basis with cost, insurance and freight paid to Rotterdam and Baltimore. CME puts world production at 85,000 to 95,000 metric tons a year and the market's value at more than $20 billion at current spot prices.

## Buyers Outside China Paid More Than Twice China's Domestic Price in June

China, which the US Geological Survey estimates mined 67,000 of the world's 85,000 metric tons of tungsten in 2025, has [required export licenses for APT and other forms of the metal since February 2025](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/cornish-mine-redmoor-billion-critical-minerals). Fastmarkets assessed APT delivered to Rotterdam and Baltimore at [$2,900 to $3,210 per metric ton unit on June 19, 2026](https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/tungsten-markets-fragmenting-as-domestic-chinese-apt-market-diverges-from-exports/), up 575% from $430 to $475 on June 20, 2025. The same assessment was $900 to $940 in January 2026.

Inside China, APT changed hands at roughly $1,200 to $1,300 per metric ton unit in June, Fastmarkets reported. "I would say the correlation between China and non-China prices has broken down materially," Aditya Aggarwal, deputy CEO of Masan High-Tech Materials, told Fastmarkets. CME chose the Rotterdam and Baltimore price for settlement, so the contract will follow what European and American buyers pay.

Fastmarkets reported in March that carbide and tungsten powder suppliers could be months behind on deliveries and that some downstream companies were looking to buy ore directly. In the US, about 60% of tungsten goes into cemented carbide parts for cutting tools and wear-resistant uses in construction, metalworking, mining, and oil and gas drilling, according to the USGS.

"For our manufacturing clients, tungsten is essential to production but has been difficult to budget for without a forward market," said Maarten Gassmann, managing director of Grondmet. "This contract fills that gap, allowing them to plan their operations with greater cost certainty." Quentin Lamarche, CEO of TechMet SCM, said the contract will help companies manage the commercial risks of physically trading and shipping tungsten, and Jin Hennig, CME's global head of metals, said clients increasingly want to hedge their tungsten exposure and see clearer prices.

## Defense Contractors Cannot Deliver Tungsten Powder or Alloy Mined in China From January 1, 2027

Trading is due to start in the same quarter that the Pentagon widens its restrictions on Chinese tungsten. Under a [Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation clause](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-48/chapter-2/subchapter-H/part-252/subpart-252.2/section-252.225-7052), contractors may not deliver tungsten metal powder or tungsten heavy alloy melted or produced in China, Russia, North Korea or Iran through December 31, 2026. From January 1, 2027, they also may not deliver material mined, refined or separated in those countries, so US defense suppliers will need tungsten from the market outside China that the Rotterdam and Baltimore price covers.

Tungsten has not been mined commercially in the US since 2015, according to the USGS, and the country relies on imports for more than half of the tungsten it uses. Tungsten projects in Nevada, New Brunswick and Yukon have received Defense Production Act Title III awards, the USGS says.

## FAQ

**Q: How much does tungsten cost per kilogram?**
Tungsten prices are quoted per metric ton unit (mtu), which equals 10 kilograms of tungsten trioxide (WO3) content. Fastmarkets' June 19, 2026 assessment of $2,900 to $3,210 per mtu for APT delivered to Rotterdam and Baltimore works out to about $290 to $321 per kilogram of contained WO3. Tungsten concentrate delivered globally had held at $2,500 to $2,800 per mtu since May 29, Fastmarkets reported in late June, up from $750 to $850 at the start of 2026.

**Q: Is there a tungsten shortage?**
Supply of the controlled products from China all but stopped after the licensing rules took effect in February 2025, Fastmarkets reported. New mines are slow to arrive: Fastmarkets says a project can take a decade or more to go from discovery to production, though the USGS reports that Kazakhstan's Boguty deposit started producing in 2025. Governments are also stockpiling: the US has announced Project Vault, a $12 billion stockpiling initiative for critical minerals and rare earths.

**Q: Why is China's domestic tungsten price lower than the Western price?**
Export licensing limits how much Chinese material reaches buyers abroad. A trader told Fastmarkets in June that the arbitrage mechanism that once tied domestic Chinese prices to international markets "is becoming less effective." Tungsten concentrate prices inside China had fallen by about half from an all-time high on March 11, while the Rotterdam and Baltimore APT price kept rising.

**Q: What tariffs does the US charge on Chinese tungsten?**
At the end of 2024 the US raised Section 301 tariffs to 50% on several Chinese tungsten products, according to the USGS.