# Rubidium: Trading

No exchange, no benchmark, just a few refiners

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/rubidium/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.

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

## Other sections

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