European bismuth prices rocket to record highs on China export curbs
March 19 (Reuters) - Bismuth prices in Europe have surged to all-time highs as China's export controls squeeze supplies of the mineral used in atomic research, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, according to traders and experts.
Prices of bismuth have jumped to $40 a lb on the European spot market, an all-time high, up from $6 per lb in late January, a more than six-fold rise.
Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here.
In the United States, bismuth prices are even higher - at $55 a lb compared with $6.5-$7 before China's export curbs.
Traders said U.S. prices were also higher because of the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on imports from top producer China.
China in February announced plans to impose export controls on five key metals, opens new tab - tungsten, tellurium, molybdenum, bismuth, and indium - in response to Trump's import tariffs.
"At the moment there are no supply sources to fully replace Chinese material," commodity analysts with business intelligence company CRU Group told Reuters.
"As much of the supply tightness is based on policy, it can ease very quickly. But assuming a full stop of Chinese bismuth exports, new capacity ex-China would be necessary."
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), China was responsible for producing around 13,000 metric tons of mined bismuth last year or more than 80% of the global total. The rest comes from countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Laos.
Prices have risen significantly, making it risky to ship materials for stockpiling since delivery takes about two months and no one knows where the market will be by then, said a Europe-based trader.
"This situation is causing a very low unsold inventory level internationally, keeping the price for prompt material at a very high level," he added.
Meanwhile, the most active bismuth contract on the Wuxi Stainless Steel Exchange was trading at 163,800 yuan ($22,677) per metric ton on Tuesday, 105% higher than at the beginning of the year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
Bessent says US may 'roll the date forward' for some after 90-day tariff pause ends
June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said the Trump administration is prepared to "roll the date forward" with trading partners negotiating in good faith if the deadline marking the end of the 90-day pause on President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs is reached with no deal. "It is highly likely that those countries - or trading blocs as is the case with the EU - who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue the good-faith negotiations," Bessent told the House Ways and Means Committee. "If someone is not negotiating, then we will not." Bessent's remarks, in response to a question from a Democratic lawmaker, marked the first time a Trump administration official has indicated some flexibility around the expiration date for the pause. That date - July 8 - is now just four weeks away, and so far the White House has struck only one preliminary deal with a major foreign trading partner affected by the pause, Britain. A deal struck on Tuesday in London with China to de-escalate that bilateral trade war is proceeding on a separate track and timeline. The White House did not immediately respond to a question about whether Trump shared Bessent's view. Trump announced the pause on April 9, a week after unveiling "Liberation Day" tariffs against nearly all U.S. trading partners that proved to be so unexpectedly large and sweeping that it sent global financial markets into near panic. The S&P 500 Index (.SPX), opens new tab plunged more than 12% in four days for its heftiest run of losses since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Investors were so rattled they bailed out of safe-haven U.S. Treasury securities, sending bond yields rocketing higher. The dollar sank. Markets started their recovery on April 9 when Trump unexpectedly announced the pause. A further leg up in the recovery followed in early May when the Trump team reached a preliminary deal to dial back the triple-digit tariff rates it had imposed on goods from China. The events have given rise to what some on Wall Street have parodied as the "TACO" trade - an acronym for Trump Always Chickens Out. "The only time the market has reacted positively is when the administration is in retreat from key policy areas," Democratic Representative Don Beyer of Virginia told Bessent before pressing him on what should be expected at the end of the next deadline next month. "As I have said repeatedly there are 18 important trading partners. We are working toward deals with those," Bessent said before going on to signal a willingness to offer extensions to those negotiating in good faith.
BBC News
29 minutes ago
- BBC News
US to partially evacuate embassy in Iraq over security threats
Non-essential American embassy staff and their dependents in Baghdad are evacuating from Iraq due to heightened security risks, US government sources said on did not say exactly what prompted the removal, however in recent days talks over Iran's nuclear programme appear to have stalled.A US state department official told the BBC: "We are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies. "Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our mission in Iraq." President Donald Trump told a podcast on Wednesday that he was growing less confident that a deal can be reached over Iran's nuclear US wants Iran to stop enriching uranium, which can be used to create a nuclear bomb, in exchange for easing economic Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said his country would retaliate against American bases in the region if talks fail and the US president orders military strikes against reported that US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also approved the voluntary departure of families of US military personnel from countries across the Middle East including Kuwait and on Wednesday, the UK's Maritime Trade Operations organisation issued a warning saying that increased military tensions in the Middle East could affect price of oil initially increased more than 4% on the news, in anticipation of regional insecurity potentially leading to supply 2,500 American troops are based in Iraq, according to the US defence reporting from Tom Bateman in Washington
Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Telegraph
US to order evacuation of Iraqi embassy amid fears of Iran deal collapse
American embassies in the Middle East are preparing to send home non-essential staff and families owing to heightened risks in the region. According to a string of American and local security sources, the embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, is planning what officials called an 'ordered evacuation,' withdrawing non-essential staff. It was already operating at reduced staffing levels. But facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait are also to send home family members. The move is being considered as the prospect of the US signing a nuclear deal with Iran appears less and less likely. 'Trump committed to keeping Americans safe' Details emerged hours after Aziz Nasirzadeh, Iran's minister of defence, said that Tehran would strike US bases in the region if nuclear talks failed, and tensions escalated with Washington. 'President Trump is committed to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad,' a State Department official told The Telegraph. 'In keeping with that commitment, we are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies. Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our mission in Iraq.' Mr Trump said he was growing 'less confident' in the likelihood of signing a nuclear deal with the country. Speaking to the New York Post's Pod Force One podcast, Mr Trump said: 'I don't know. I did think so, and I'm getting more and more less confident about it,' when asked by the host if he thought Iran would agree to shut down its nuclear program. UK issues warning The UK maritime agency issued a warning earlier on Wednesday that increased tensions could trigger a military escalation with a knock-on effect on critical waterways. It advised vessels to use caution while travelling through the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Straits of Hormuz, which all border Iran. Iraq, a rare regional partner of both the United States and its arch regional foe Iran, hosts 2,500 US troops and has Tehran-backed armed factions linked to its security forces. Tensions inside Iraq have heightened since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with Iran-aligned armed groups in the country repeatedly attacking US troops. Mr Trump has been under pressure from Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, to allow the country to strike Iran. So-far, Mr Trump has blocked strikes. He told reporters in the Oval Office last month: 'I told [Mr Netanyahu] this would be inappropriate to do right now because we're very close to a solution now. 'That could change at any moment.' The US president has also threatened to strike Iran if stalled talks over its nuclear programme failed. Iran's mission to the United Nations posted on social media that 'threats of overwhelming force won't change the facts'. 'Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, and US militarism only fuels instability,' it said.
