# Helium: Correlation Prices it moves with, and why Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/correlation/ Helium is separated from certain natural gas streams in the United States, Qatar, Algeria and Russia, so supply depends on gas projects. Sold on multi-year contracts to MRI, chip, fibre optic and welding users, its price moves in steps, not daily. Proxy **US producer price index: other industrial gases** index, BLS base period · monthly, Jun 2009 to Sep 2026 There is no free public price for helium itself, so this tab uses the closest public series as a stand-in. Read the numbers as an indication, not as the price of this exact item. #### What its price moves with Selected link ##### Helium and Natural gas Monthly changes -0.02 little or none correlation 12-month changes 0.26 weak correlation Last 5 years -0.08 monthly changes Lead or lag +1 mo Natural gas tends to lead by 1 month (r 0.04) Price function, Jun 2009 to Sep 2026 Helium ≈ 120.1 × (Natural gas)^0.18 R² 0.09 On this fit, a 10% higher natural gas price goes with a 1.8% higher helium price over the long run. Units: index, BLS base period and $/mmbtu. The fit is loose, so treat the function as a rough guide. Chart: Helium and Natural gas prices rebased to 100 at Jun 2009, log scale Both prices rebased to 100 at Jun 2009, on a log scale so equal percentage moves look the same size. Chart: Helium price against Natural gas price, monthly, log scales, with fitted line Each dot is one month; paler dots are older (2009), darker dots recent (2026); the ringed dot is the latest month. The dashed line is the fitted price function. Both axes are logarithmic. Energy [Gas Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/)Co-product −0.02 Helium is a by-product of processing helium-rich natural gas, so new supply arrives only when gas plants are built. The proxy index barely tracks the gas price: monthly moves correlate at -0.02 and yearly moves at 0.26, because gas prices do not decide helium output. little or none co-movement month to month · 207 months Show charts Energy [LNG LNG chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lng/)Co-product 0.15 Qatar recovers helium from the tail gas of its LNG trains, so LNG outages or expansions change world helium supply. The proxy index shows a modest link, with monthly moves at 0.15 and yearly moves at 0.39, as LNG prices and helium volumes are only loosely connected. little or none co-movement month to month · 207 months Show charts Chemical [N2 Nitrogen gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/nitrogen_gas/)Same suppliers 0.79 The same few industrial gas companies sell helium and nitrogen in cylinders and bulk, adding energy and delivery surcharges across their product lists. The two proxy indexes move closely, at 0.79 monthly, 0.83 yearly and 0.90 in the last five years, reflecting shared pricing rather than shared physical supply. strong co-movement month to month · 207 months Show charts Chemical [Ar Argon](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/argon/)Same suppliers 0.12 Argon is also sold by industrial gas firms, but it is separated from air rather than from natural gas. The index link is weak, monthly moves at 0.12 and yearly moves at -0.23, showing that different supply sources outweigh the shared sellers. little or none co-movement month to month · 207 months Show charts Chemical [ESG Electronic specialty gases](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electronic_gases/)Demand driver Chip fabs use helium to cool wafers and in lithography and leak testing, making semiconductors one of the fastest-growing helium uses. Both elements are represented here by the same proxy index of other industrial gases, so no separate comparison is possible. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. How to read these numbers **Correlation of monthly changes** (the number in the coloured pill) compares how much each price moved, month by month, since 2006 or the first month both series exist. It runs from −1 to +1: near +1 the two usually rise and fall in the same months, near 0 there is no link, and a negative number means they tend to move in opposite directions. Above 0.7 is strong, 0.4 to 0.7 moderate, 0.2 to 0.4 weak. **12-month changes** compare year-on-year moves, which shows whether two prices share the same cycles even when the month-to-month noise differs. **Price function** is a straight-line fit of the two prices on logarithmic scales: price ≈ k × (partner price)^β. β is how much this price moves, in per cent, for a 1% move in the partner over the whole period, and R² is the share of the variation the fit explains. Two prices that both drift up with inflation can fit well without any real link, so read it together with the monthly correlation. **Lead or lag** checks whether the monthly correlation is clearly higher when one price is shifted by 1 to 6 months. Correlation is not cause. The reasons on each card explain the economic link; the numbers show how strongly it has shown up in prices. Proxy series are US producer price indexes or related prices and can blur the real link. Data: World Bank Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet), October 2026; US Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price indexes, IMF primary commodity prices and US EIA prices via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, retrieved November 2026. Calculations by this site. ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/overview/index.md) - [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/extraction/index.md) - [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/production/index.md) - [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/stocks/index.md) - [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/cycles/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/movement/index.md) - [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/criticality/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/emissions/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/helium/links/index.md)