Global tungsten price 2018-2024

In 2024, the average price of tungsten was around 250 U.S. dollars per metric ton unit of tungsten trioxide, a decrease of some three percent in comparison to the previous year. Tungsten is a rare metal that has the highest melting and boiling point of all known elements. 

Global tungsten market

In the past, tungsten was mainly used for making the filaments of old-style incandescent light bulbs. Today, tungsten and its alloys such as tungsten carbide, also known as wolfram carbide, are used in many high-temperature applications such as arc welding electrodes and heating elements. As of 2023, the global market value of tungsten amounted to over 5.5 billion U.S. dollars. 

Leading tungsten producers

Global tungsten production amounted to around 81,000 metric tons in 2024. China is by far the leading producer of tungsten, with a production volume of some 67,000 metric tons in 2024, accounting for more than 80 percent of the global tungsten production that year. Vietnam ranked in a distant second place, having produced 3,400 metric tons of tungsten. Meanwhile, countries classified as politically unstable accounted for around 81,917 metric tons of the tungsten produced worldwide in 2022.