(Bloomberg) — Prices for gallium are close to their highest since 2011 as China’s export restrictions crimp global supply and hurt buyers of the metal used in a swathe of high-tech applications.
Beijing last year placed gallium and germanium under stricter government oversight — largely seen as a tit-for-tat response to the US-China trade war on technology. Gallium exports ground to a halt in August and September of 2023 and, while flows have restarted since then, volumes are still significantly lower.
International prices for gallium are now more than double where they were when Beijing’s new export curbs were announced, according to Fastmarkets data. That means higher costs for making equipment where gallium is a crucial material, from semiconductors and radar devices to solar panels and smartphone screens.
Gallium metal by end-March was selling at $575 a kilogram delivered to Rotterdam — more than 100% higher than when China announced the export controls.
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