CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) plans to launch tungsten futures early next year, creating a new derivatives market for the critical mineral amid surging prices and growing demand.
In an announcement on Monday, CME said the expansion into tungsten would help meet rising demand for its metals products, which have recorded strong trading volumes this year.
The new contracts are expected to begin trading in Q1 2027, subject to regulatory review.
They will be cash-settled against Fastmarkets’ price assessment for ammonium paratungstate (APT), based on duty-unpaid cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) prices in Rotterdam and Baltimore, CME says.
The launch would mark the first tungsten futures contract on the market, providing a new way for producers, consumers, and traders to manage price risks.
Billion-dollar market
Tungsten prices have risen more than sixfold since early 2025, driven largely by Chinese export controls and concerns over global supply.
The metal is considered a critical mineral by the US, European Union, Japan, and India, due to its importance in defence, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, and industrial applications.
According to CME, the global tungsten market is worth more than US$20 billion ($28.65 billion) at current spot prices, highlighting the growing need for hedging tools.
“Tungsten sits at the intersection of advanced manufacturing, semiconductor technologies, and geopolitics, and our clients are increasingly seeking to hedge their exposure and improve price transparency,” says CME Group Managing Director and Global Head of Metals Jin Hennig.
Improved price transparency
The new contracts are also intended to improve price transparency in a market characterised by concentrated supply and increasing volatility, according to Fastmarkets CEO Raju Daswani.
“The launch of this contract, based on Fastmarkets’ tungsten APT assessment, is a significant step in the market’s development, connecting physical-market price discovery with new opportunities to manage price risk,” Daswani says.
The planned launch comes as CME continues to expand its metals business amid growing investor and commercial interest in precious and industrial metals.
During the first nine months of 2026, the exchange recorded an average daily trading volume of 1.2 million metals contracts, up 41% from the same period last year.
CME is the world’s leading derivatives marketplace, offering futures and options on futures trading through the CME Globex platform.
Write to Jackson Chen at Mining.com.au
Main Image: CME Group
