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Bismuth Price
The Bismuth prices and rates shown reflect the standard retail rate for individual investors and is consistent with typical market pricing. For larger orders of bismuth, whether for investment purposes or industrial use, please get in touch with us to receive a tailored quote. These quotes are obtained from an industry supplier by an API.
Current reference price: $74.66/kg
Key Price Drivers
Chinese Export Restrictions
China controls ~90% of refined output and cut exports 40% since Q3 2024
Lead Substitution Demand
Tightening regulations are replacing toxic lead with bismuth across plumbing, electronics, and ammunition
Byproduct Supply Constraint
Bismuth is recovered primarily as a byproduct of lead and tungsten mining, limiting supply flexibility
Pharmaceutical and Industrial Demand
Growing use in stomach remedies, cosmetics, and thermoelectric materials broadens the demand base
Learn more about gallium, its key applications, and long-term investment potential in our guide to investing in bismuth.
Bismuth Price Trends & Forecast
Bismuth spent most of the 2010s as one of the more overlooked byproduct metals, trading in the $8 to $10 per pound range with little drama. The annual average price in 2024 was $5.30 per pound, a 30% increase from 2023 and the highest annual average since 2018 USGS – still modest by any standard. What followed in 2025 was extraordinary.
China’s export license requirements drove bismuth prices to a high of $38.50 per pound, a more than tenfold increase from $3.58 per pound at the start of 2025. The restrictions were part of a broader retaliation against US tariffs, bundling bismuth alongside indium, molybdenum, tellurium, and tungsten. The market impact was immediate and severe. Companies building AI data centers for major US tech firms warned that their work could be hampered by shortages of bismuth-based solder, which is essential for connecting temperature-sensitive electronics. Prices have since settled into the $15 per pound range following the 90-day US-China trade truce struck in May 2025, though analysts warn that prices could spike again if longer-term solutions remain elusive.
The supply picture explains why this market is so vulnerable to policy shifts. China produces roughly 80% of the world’s bismuth supply, and the US ceased domestic production of primary refined bismuth in 1997, leaving it highly import-reliant. Bismuth is also almost entirely a byproduct metal – primarily of lead, tungsten, and zinc processing – meaning supply cannot simply be scaled up in response to higher prices.
Looking ahead, the demand case is broadening beyond pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Roskill forecasts bismuth demand growing at a 9.8% CAGR through 2035, driven by its expanding role as a non-toxic lead substitute in electronics, plumbing, and defense applications. How much of that demand growth translates into price support depends heavily on whether China continues to treat bismuth as a geopolitical lever – and recent history suggests it will.