Tungsten is crucial for instruments, mechanical engineering and armaments. The Iran conflict has pushed the worth to a document excessive. This is an alarm sign for the German financial system.
The value of tungsten is skyrocketing – and that is greater than only a aspect observe from the uncooked supplies markets. Many individuals solely know the metallic from outdated mild bulbs. However, it’s indispensable for quite a few key industries: Tungsten is present in instruments, machines, electronics, ammunition and high-tech purposes.
A vital and strategic uncooked materials
This is difficult for Germany and the EU: Tungsten is formally thought-about a vital and strategic uncooked materials in Brussels. The latest value leap has lots to do with conflict, armaments and geopolitical dependency.
At the top of March, the worth of ammonium paratungstate – a very powerful intermediate within the manufacturing of tungsten – reached a document excessive of $3,150 per metric ton unit on the Rotterdam market. This corresponds to a rise of round 50 % for the reason that begin of the Iran conflict and is subsequently comparable in magnitude to the oil value rally over the identical interval.
Iran conflict continues to drive up the worth
The background: Tungsten is a particularly exhausting metallic. It has the best melting level of all metals (3,422 levels Celsius). That’s why it is also present in armor-piercing ammunition and rocket elements like these used within the Iran conflict.
But not like many industrial purposes, tungsten in rockets shouldn’t be recyclable. With each rocket that explodes, tungsten is irretrievably misplaced.
China dominates world Tungsten manufacturing
However, tungsten was already briefly provide earlier than the latest escalation within the Middle East. The value has greater than tripled for the reason that finish of December and greater than sevenfold since June 2025.
The Iran conflict is an accelerator – however not the one purpose for the fast rise in costs. The Chinese issue performs a serious function: The People’s Republic dominates world tungsten manufacturing; in response to information from the US geological company USGS, China mined 67,000 tons final yr and thus accounts for round 79 % of worldwide manufacturing.
Chinas Export management dampen exports
In February 2025, Beijing will introduce new export controls – additionally resulting from tensions with the USA which have escalated in recent times. Since then, Chinese export volumes have fallen by round 40 %. Exporters now require authorities approvals earlier than exporting their items from China.
There are additionally structural issues: declining ore high quality and stricter manufacturing quotas have lately depressed Chinese mining manufacturing. The Iran conflict is changing into an extra value driver in an already tense market.
Mechanical engineering and armaments: Why Europe is susceptible
However, the decrease exports from China aren’t solely offset by rising navy demand; Tungsten can also be extremely wanted in trade. Its hardness and warmth resistance make the metallic central to exhausting metallic elements, similar to drills, milling cutters, reducing plates and different precision instruments.
This is especially explosive for the Federal Republic as a result of tungsten is required in exactly these sectors that kind the commercial spine of the German financial system: in mechanical engineering, metallic processing and car manufacturing. According to the Critical Raw Materials Act, the EU additionally explicitly classifies tungsten as strategically related for aerospace and protection.
The area of interest metallic tungsten has thus turn into a strategic bottleneck uncooked materials. The Iran conflict additional exacerbates the issue. The instance reveals how susceptible Germany and Europe are in relation to vital uncooked supplies – in trade in addition to within the protection sector.
https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/weltwirtschaft/wolfram-preis-iran-krieg-industrie-100.html