# Rhenium: Trading

A few roasters, a few buyers, all bilateral deals

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/trading/

What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.

Rhenium has no futures market. It trades through bilateral contracts between a few molybdenum roasters and refiners, such as Chile's Molymet, and superalloy makers. Agencies such as Argus and Fastmarkets assess prices for metal pellets and catalytic-grade APR. Engine makers secure supply through long-term contracts and recycling deals for their own scrap. Tilton and Guzmán put world rhenium sales at about $146 million in 2014, against $7,155 million for molybdenum (pdf p. 23). A market this small can move sharply on one large order.

#### Where it is bought (buyers)

- Superalloy and jet-engine makers, mainly in the US and Europe (Pratt & Whitney signed the largest known contract, with Molymet, in 2014)
- Catalyst makers for oil refineries worldwide
- US imports in 2021-24 came from Chile (31%), Canada (27%), Germany (16%) and Poland (14%) (USGS)

#### Where it is sold (sellers)

- Molymet and Codelco's Molyb in Chile
- KGHM in Poland; producers in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
- US roasters treating Arizona and Montana concentrate
- Recyclers in the US and Germany, plus Canada, Estonia, France, Japan, Poland and Russia

#### Exchanges and benchmarks

| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **None** | No exchange contract | Small bilateral market; Tilton and Guzman put 2014 world sales at $146 million |

#### Contract types

- Multi-year supply contracts between producers and engine makers (P&W-Molymet, 2014)
- Closed-loop catalyst recycling contracts with refiners
- Toll recycling of turbine scrap and revert
- Spot sales of pellets and APR priced off PRA quotes

#### Top trading houses

- Specialist merchants such as Lipmann Walton & Co (UK) and other MMTA members

#### How prices are discovered

- Argus: rhenium metal pellets and catalytic-grade APR (used by USGS)
- Fastmarkets: rhenium and APR assessments
- Long-term contract prices are private

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/cycles/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rhenium/links/index.md)