Gadolinium Price Today: Metal Benchmark & Market Outlook

Last updated: 3 September 2026 · Updated monthly · Source: Shanghai Metals Market (SMM)

The gadolinium price stands at $55,182.45 per tonne — equivalent to $55.18 per kilogram — for gadolinium metal on the Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) industrial benchmark as of 3 September 2026, up 0.52% from $54,897.19/tonne ($54.90/kg) at the August benchmark. The VAT-excluded, delivered-to-works China price ranged from $53,868.59 to $56,496.32 per tonne ($53.87–$56.50/kg) intraday on 3 September. The SMM benchmark tracks gadolinium metal; gadolinium oxide, the primary chemical intermediate and the form most commonly referenced in broader market commentary, trades at a substantial discount to the metal.

Gadolinium is a heavy lanthanide rare earth element with an unusually broad application profile spanning MRI contrast agents, neutron shielding in nuclear reactors, phosphors, and emerging roles in magnetocaloric refrigeration. China controls the dominant share of global gadolinium production, recovered primarily from ionic clay deposits in southern China alongside other heavy rare earths. For background on gadolinium’s properties and applications, see the gadolinium overview.

Current Gadolinium Price

Gadolinium pricing splits across multiple forms and purities, with significant price differences between the industrial oxide traded in bulk and the refined metal used in medical and nuclear applications. The SMM metal benchmark is the primary reference for industrial buyers of gadolinium metal. Oxide prices, tracked separately, reflect the intermediate processing stage before metal reduction.

The gap between gadolinium oxide and metal pricing reflects the energy-intensive reduction process required to convert oxide to metal form. For most industrial applications — phosphors, ceramic glazes, and gadolinium-iron alloys for magneto-optical storage — the oxide form is sufficient. Medical MRI contrast agents use gadolinium chelate compounds derived from the oxide; nuclear shielding and magnetocaloric applications require higher-purity metal forms.

Gadolinium Price History

Gadolinium oxide prices spiked dramatically during China’s 2011 export quota crisis before collapsing through the mid-2010s as quotas were removed and supply normalised. Metal prices have since tracked in a narrower range, with mid-2026 levels reflecting a market that has been volatile month to month rather than settling into a clear trend.

What Is Driving Gadolinium Prices

Gadolinium demand is more diversified across end-uses than most heavy rare earths, which provides both resilience and complexity in price forecasting. MRI contrast agents — gadolinium chelate compounds injected intravenously to enhance magnetic resonance imaging — represent a significant and relatively price-inelastic demand stream, as there is no clinically equivalent substitute for gadolinium in MRI enhancement. Global MRI scanner installations continue to grow, particularly in emerging market healthcare infrastructure, providing a structural demand floor.

Neutron shielding in nuclear reactors is a second strategic application. Gadolinium’s exceptionally high thermal neutron absorption cross-section — among the highest of any stable element — makes it the material of choice for specific reactor control and shielding applications. Nuclear demand is long-cycle and qualification-driven, insulating it from short-term price movements. Phosphor and ceramic applications represent the largest volume end-use but are more price-sensitive and exposed to technology substitution.

The emerging magnetocaloric refrigeration application — where gadolinium’s strong magnetocaloric effect near room temperature makes it a candidate material for solid-state cooling systems — has attracted research investment but has not yet translated into commercial-scale demand. If magnetocaloric technology reaches commercial deployment, gadolinium demand could increase substantially from current baselines. USGS Rare Earths Statistics tracks gadolinium within the broader heavy rare earth complex; no standalone global production figure is published.

Western Gadolinium Supply Development

Gadolinium is present in most HREE-bearing deposits at concentrations that support co-product recovery. Western projects advancing toward HREE production — across North America, Australia, and Europe — would contribute gadolinium supply as a secondary stream, though no facility currently operates at commercial scale. The economics of gadolinium recovery within a broader HREE processing circuit are generally supportive, given the element’s relatively stable pricing and diversified end-use base.

Medical and nuclear applications create a distinct demand signal for high-purity gadolinium that Western supply chains are particularly poorly positioned to meet — both require processing standards that current non-Chinese facilities do not consistently achieve at scale. For the broader supply context, see the top rare earth producing countries and the China rare earth overview.

Gadolinium Price Outlook

The near-term gadolinium price picture is now mixed rather than moving as a block. The metal benchmark has essentially stabilised, up a modest 0.52% into September after August’s 11.1% drop, but the oxide grades kept falling — bulk oxide down 7.3% and high-purity oxide down 2.3% on the month. That divergence suggests metal and oxide pricing are being driven by somewhat different near-term dynamics rather than a single common signal. MRI contrast agent demand continues to provide a price floor that prevents a return to the sub-$30/kg levels of the mid-2010s trough.

Medium-term outlook is more constructive. Nuclear energy’s expanding role in decarbonisation strategies — with new reactor builds accelerating across Asia, Europe, and North America — adds a structural demand increment for gadolinium in shielding and control applications that will grow on a multi-year horizon. The magnetocaloric wildcard remains: commercial deployment of solid-state cooling at scale would represent a demand shock for which current supply infrastructure has no response mechanism. For comparison with other heavy rare earth price structures, see the dysprosium price page and the broader rare earth elements guide.

Gadolinium vs Other Heavy Rare Earths

Within the heavy rare earth complex, gadolinium is most directly comparable to terbium and dysprosium in supply origin — all three are extracted from Chinese ionic clay deposits — but diverges significantly in end-use profile. Dysprosium and terbium are driven overwhelmingly by NdFeB permanent magnet demand tied to EV motors and wind turbines. Gadolinium’s demand base is anchored in medical imaging and nuclear applications, giving it a different demand cycle and a lower correlation with the EV supply chain narrative that dominates rare earth investment attention.

This distinction makes gadolinium pricing less volatile than the magnet rare earths on short-term timescales but also less likely to benefit from the structural demand growth that EV adoption is expected to drive for dysprosium and terbium through the late 2020s.

Gadolinium Price Per Gram, Ounce and Pound

The conversion table below is calculated from the SMM gadolinium metal industrial benchmark and updated monthly. The SMM benchmark is quoted per tonne; per-kilogram and smaller unit conversions are shown for reference.

Gadolinium Price in GBP, EUR and Other Currencies

Currency conversions from the SMM USD benchmark into GBP, EUR, AUD, JPY, and CAD are shown below. Figures are calculated using approximate exchange rates at the time of the most recent update and are for reference only.

Prices are calculated from the SMM industrial benchmark and updated monthly. For gadolinium oxide and research-grade metal prices, see the Current Gadolinium Price table above.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Prices are subject to change without notice.