Price of tungsten, sulfur and helium

BEIJING — The Iran conflict is squeezing a worldwide commodities market already pressured by China’s export controls and stockpiling efforts.

Costs of three area of interest parts — tungsten, sulfur and helium — have climbed sharply in current weeks.

Whereas not one of the commodities are traded as broadly as oil, the surge signifies how ripple results from the Center East battle may find yourself limiting manufacturing of the semiconductors that energy synthetic intelligence advances.

Tungsten, a metallic almost as arduous as a diamond, creates {the electrical} connection within the core of a semiconductor chip. Sulfuric acid, a byproduct of sulfur, cleans chip wafers. Helium allows clean manufacturing of semiconductors for the reason that fuel prevents undesirable chemical reactions within the manufacturing course of.

These are simply a few of the methods by which the three parts have change into important for contemporary manufacturing, together with for protection.

Beijing began to ramp up its management over the important provides even earlier than the Iran conflict began on Feb. 28, partly as tensions with the U.S. escalated over the previous few years.

China began limiting tungsten exports simply over a yr in the past, and in December known as for tighter limits on sulfuric acid exports. Helium, a fuel that is tough to retailer, noticed the amount of Chinese language imports rise by 15.7% in 2025, after a virtually 65% surge in 2024, in keeping with Wind Data.

The Iran conflict and the following constraints on the Strait of Hormuz, a important Center East delivery route for power and chemical compounds, has tipped some oversupply conditions into undersupply, whereas exacerbating current shortages.

Costs of the three commodities have jumped in some instances by greater than oil. The broadly used fossil gasoline has climbed by greater than 50% in March, placing Brent on observe for a file month.

“Whereas the Chinese language provide chain is being seen as extra resilient than many friends, the danger of disruption in chemical compounds as uncooked supplies for producers in chosen segments is increased than anticipated primarily based on the suggestions,” Goldman Sachs analysts mentioned in a report late final week, citing almost 40 commodity-related conferences and web site visits in China.

Tungsten hit a file excessive of over $3,000 late final week, marking a surge of effectively over 50% for the month and greater than tripling in value since late December. That is primarily based on the {industry} benchmark known as “ammonium para tungstate (APT)” in metric ton models, or MTU, from Fastmarket, as quoted by tungsten miner Almonty.

Almonty formally reopened a big tungsten mine in Sangdong, South Korea, earlier this month, and plans to begin producing some tungsten this yr at a venture within the U.S. state of Montana.

The corporate’s CEO Lewis Black informed CNBC that protection sector demand for tungsten has been “extraordinarily sturdy” for the reason that starting of final yr, however that there is been no notable change regardless of the Iran conflict.

“There is not any materials to stockpile. That is most likely the largest change,” he mentioned.

The value of sulfuric acid in Africa is now no less than 30% increased than it was previous to the conflict, and remains to be rising, the Goldman Sachs analysts mentioned, citing an area Chinese language miner in Africa.

Different assessments level to a milder rise in costs.

China sulfur costs, together with price and freight, climbed by about 13% from early March to $621 per tonne as of March 26, in keeping with S&P International Platts.

“A 2-3 month efficient blockade would seemingly change into a extreme provide shock, particularly as freight/insurance coverage keep elevated and Center East-origin cargoes change into more durable to execute,” Pan Yuya, lead analyst for sulfur and phosphate uncooked supplies at S&P International Power, and Isaac Zhao, senior principal analyst, China fertilizers at S&P International Power, mentioned in a March 20 observe.

The S&P analysts mentioned that round 56% of China’s sulfur imports got here from the Center East in 2025.

“Even previous to the Center East battle, sulfur costs had been rising sharply because the market tightened. With sulfur costs now at contemporary file highs, the ‘tremendous squeeze’ on this reasonably obscure commodity in provide warrants additional examination,” HSBC analysts mentioned in a March 16 report.

Helium costs have roughly doubled for the reason that Iran conflict started, in keeping with Fitch Scores.

As most buying and selling happens by means of long-term non-public contracts between industrial fuel suppliers and producers, it’s tough to pinpoint industry-wide costs, mentioned Shelley Jang, Fitch’s director of Asia-Pacific company rankings.

Iranian missile assaults this month crippled a key industrial heart in Qatar, which produces about one-third of the world’s helium.

That suggests helium provide will not be restored anytime quickly, identified Christopher Ecclestone, principal and mining strategist at Hallgarten & Firm.

In a single indication of additional market tightness, costs of helium in China’s Henan province have reversed a downturn this yr to climb from a Feb. 28 low of 545 yuan ($78.85) a bottle to 600 yuan ($86.81), in keeping with Wind Data.

Shortages attributable to the Iran conflict are the most recent provide chain disruption to rock international markets, which confronted related shocks from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the Covid-19 pandemic. That is pushed firms to diversify, and nations reminiscent of China to ramp up stockpiling plans.

“Entry to provides of sure bodily supplies the place manufacturing and processing is concentrated in China will change into extra frequent subjects of negotiations with Beijing,” Rhodium Group mentioned in a March 24 report.

Restricted value transparency additionally means the scarcity may very well be worse than accessible numbers recommend.

Tungsten and helium costs have been surging, “however you do not have anybody on the purchase aspect saying, ‘oh my goodness, we do not have sufficient product,'” Ecclestone mentioned. “Protection contractors ought to have warehouses of tungsten, however they do not.”

“The world has obtained lazy. It thinks life is sort of a grocery store, the product is a pack of cornflakes or a couple of tons of sulfuric acid,” he mentioned. “The grocery store of commodities has had a couple of of the aisles chopped down.”