Rubidium: Trading
No exchange, no benchmark, just a few refiners
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.Rubidium has no exchange, no benchmark and no price-reporting coverage. A few chemical refiners in China and Germany sell salts and metal directly, and laboratory suppliers sell by the gram. Nassar et al. show how such by-product markets can spike when demand outruns host output, as ruthenium did in 2006-07. Rubidium's market is tiny and opaque in the same way, so buyers rely on supplier relationships rather than price discovery.
Where it is bought (buyers)
- Specialty glass and fibre makers
- Atomic clock, sensor and night-vision makers
- Research and medical laboratories buying gram lots
Where it is sold (sellers)
- Refiners in China and Germany using stockpiled ore (USGS)
- Laboratory chemical suppliers selling ampoules and salts
Exchanges and benchmarks
| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| None | No exchange contract | No market price exists; no Indian venue lists rubidium |
Contract types
- Catalogue sales of metal ampoules and salts
- Bilateral supply contracts for compounds
Top trading houses
- None prominent
How prices are discovered
- Supplier catalogue prices summarised yearly by USGS