CME Group Targets Critical Minerals with New Tungsten Futures

The derivatives marketplace plans to launch trading for the metal by early 2027, pending necessary regulatory approvals. This initiative responds to a surge in demand across the firm’s metals division, which recorded a daily volume of 1.2 million contracts during the first nine months of this year, representing a 41% increase compared to the previous year.

While tungsten maintains an active spot market, it currently lacks a futures instrument to facilitate price discovery. Governments in the U.S., the E.U., and Japan have designated the metal as a critical mineral, elevating its importance in global supply chains. By introducing this contract, CME Group aims to provide industrial participants with a mechanism to manage price volatility in a market increasingly sensitive to geopolitical shifts.