Rhenium: Cycles
Why a thin market nearly doubled its price in 2025
What this tab covers Price history and what drives booms and busts, including this commodity's super-cycles, the drivers behind them and the metrics to track. It charts monthly prices (World Bank) with a switch to inflation-adjusted annual prices; where there is no World Bank series it uses USGS US prices.Rhenium prices are thin and jumpy. The Argus metal pellet price was $977/kg in 2021 and $1,360 in 2024. It then nearly doubled to about $2,600 in 2025, a 90% rise. APR rose 78% to $2,300/kg. US apparent consumption rose 34%, as imports of unwrought metal jumped 83%. Supply cannot follow quickly, because it is tied to copper-molybdenum output. Recyclers say prices must stay above $3,000/kg to cover processing costs. That makes scrap a slow buffer rather than a fast one.
US price, Rhenium metal pellets, 99.99% (Argus)
2021 977 2022 1,120 2023 1,070 2024 1,360 2025 2,600 dollars per kilogram. USGS MCS 2026; 2025 is an estimate.Super-cycles in rhenium
Rhenium had a classic spike-and-bust in 2006-2009, when demand for superalloys and reforming catalysts ran into a supply fixed by molybdenum roasting, and spot prices rose about eightfold to around $12,000/kg. Prices then slid for a decade as new roaster circuits, Polish smelter output and recycling grew, reaching about $1,270/kg for metal in 2019. Engine makers locked in long contracts in between. In 2025 prices nearly doubled again on rising aerospace demand. With only about 100 t of total annual supply, one large order or a recycling slowdown can move the price.
- 2005-2009
Orders for new aircraft and refinery catalysts surged while supply was stuck; Molymet had about 75% of the market and no room to expand (Cochilco). The financial crisis ended the boom.
Metal about $1,400/kg in 2005 (BRGM); spot nearly $5,000 in 2006 and $9,000 in 2007; peak about $11,400-12,000/kg in October 2008 (BRGM; Cochilco); about $5,000 by late 2009.
- 2010-2020
Prices eased as new supply came from Poland (KGHM), Codelco's Molyb and recycling. Pratt & Whitney signed a $690 million purchase from Molymet in 2014.
About $4,500/kg in 2010-2013 and $2,500-3,000/kg in 2016 (Cochilco); 2019 average metal $1,269/kg and APR $822/kg, down 87-90% from 2007 (BRGM 2020).
- 2021-2025
Aerospace recovered after the pandemic; US apparent consumption rose 34% in 2025 as imports of unwrought metal jumped 83%.
Argus metal pellets $977/kg (2021), $1,360 (2024), about $2,600 (2025, up 90%); APR $2,300/kg in 2025 (USGS MCS 2026).
What drives the cycle
- Commercial aircraft build rates. Superalloy blades take about 80% of rhenium; Airbus and Boeing engine output sets demand.
- Copper-molybdenum mine output. Primary supply depends on molybdenite from porphyry copper mines, mainly in Chile and the US.
- Recycling economics. Secondary supply of 20-25 t responds to price; recyclers need about $3,000/kg.
- Refinery catalyst demand. Reforming catalysts take about 15%; closed-loop recycling limits new demand.
- Long-term contracts and stockpiling. Large engine-maker contracts, such as P&W with Molymet, can absorb a big share of supply.
Metrics to track
| Metric | Why it matters | Where to track it |
|---|---|---|
| Rhenium metal pellet and catalytic-grade APR prices | Benchmarks | Argus Non-Ferrous Markets; Fastmarkets |
| Aircraft engine deliveries (CFM, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce) | Main demand indicator | Company quarterly reports |
| Molymet sales and Chilean molybdenum output | Largest supplier | Molymet reports; Cochilco |
| US rhenium imports (APR and unwrought metal) | Tracks Western demand | USGS Mineral Industry Surveys |
| World molybdenum mine output | Ceiling on primary rhenium | International Molybdenum Association (IMOA) |