The only quarterly ruthenium price report

The Quarterly Ruthenium Market Report offers an independent ruthenium price outlook to 2026. It provides an update of the technological developments and underlying evolution of demand and end-use applications – electrical, chemical catalysis, electrochemical and aerospace.

Released four times a year on a subscription basis, this is a risk-focused ruthenium market report that details on-the-horizon, price-impacting factors, and is the only regular research report covering the ruthenium market on a quarterly basis, offering analytical charts and scenarios as an essential guide to today’s ruthenium market.

The report provides you with SFA’s hands-on, forward-looking commentary and analysis on the events and trends currently impacting ruthenium supply, demand and pricing, and their market implications. The content of each market report will vary according to ruthenium industry events, market developments, and demand updates by end-use, but is tailored to incorporate an individual client’s specific strategic requirements. Typically, the reports will include:

Ruthenium demand impacts and new market threats:

• Macroeconomic outlook and impact on supply and demand fundamentals and technology, with assessments of monthly trade flow statistics of ruthenium exports and imports.

• Highlighting positive and negative metal demand implications by end-use. 

• The impact of technology shifts and electrical application developments (higher density data storage), and chip resistors (thick film, thin film) and 3D microchips on ruthenium demand.

• Tracking and reporting on the evolution of other industrial demand, relevant processes and technology developments, including capacity expansions, new end-uses and threats from chemical catalysis, especially acetic acid synthesis (BP Cativa^TM process), ammonia production (KAAP) and olefin metathesis (Grubbs) catalysts, production of caprolactam (Asahi process), and hydrogenation of fine chemicals.

• Market intelligence on capacity by region and consumption, manufacturing bases, players, growth areas, demand upside and performance drivers encouraging the use of ruthenium.

• Monitoring ruthenium catalyst demand in PEM fuel cells is also critical as this helps to deliver power from hydrogen for industry and transport, vital for high conversion rates and efficient operation. Tracking ruthenium loadings developments is critical for the cost-effective transportation uptake of fuel cells to meet as the world begins to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, and the upcoming hydrogen economy takes off.

• Assessment of future demand opportunities in applications such as aerospace turbine blades, where superalloys are widely used, and next-generation semiconductors (Ru compounds).

• Consumption of ruthenium in photovoltaics and dye solar cells, fuel cells, coal-to-liquids (Fischer-Tropsch synthesis), anti-corrosion/heat resistant/medical alloys, and military applications.

• Future evolution and development of industrial technologies, both emerging and in decline, and identifying where new technology may be used to substitute or thrift current ruthenium demand.

• Legislation as a driver of demand and where it affects certain processes.

• Companies identifying mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and any other activities that may influence technology choices.

Ruthenium supply and mine economic impacts:

• Updates on the present and future stability and growth of primary ruthenium supply from the main producers, the implications of metal supply, and notable proprietary (discreetly derived) estimates of above-ground ruthenium stocks (stockpiles, working inventories, and risk positions) that currently exist with producers, traders and recyclers.

• The economics of primary ruthenium supply, including factors influencing cost inflation and exchange rate and volume impacts.

• Commentary on the political and socio-economic risks affecting primary supply.

• Commentary on the political and socio-economic risks affecting primary ruthenium supply in politically sensitive ruthenium-producing regions (South Africa, Zimbabwe and Russia).

• Ruthenium supply forecasts for nine probable projects, and nine possible projects.

Ruthenium price forecasts:

• Price history and economic derivation of metal prices with a five-year outlook to 2026.

• "What if" scenario analysis and threats to current prices (substitution and new technologies).

Who should read this report?

• Ruthenium-/PGM-focused end-users and fabricators in need of a quarterly independent picture of the supply, demand, stocks and pricing of the ruthenium market and its evolving technologies and new applications. 

• Producers and fabricators requiring a quarterly independent review of end-use evolution, including opportunities, threats and substitutes, as well as an understanding of price risks.

Live Q&A with the analysts

• Each quarterly report is supported by a video call, most often hosted through MS Teams and led by Dr Jenny Watts, to run through our latest report and address any further questions your team may have.