Lutetium Price Today: Oxide Benchmark & Market Outlook

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

The lutetium price stands at $666.79 per kilogram for lutetium oxide on the Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) industrial benchmark as of 3 September 2026, down 0.94% from $673.14/kg at the August benchmark, with the VAT-excluded, delivered-to-works China price ranging from $656.93 to $676.64/kg intraday on 3 September. Lutetium is the heaviest and rarest of the stable lanthanide rare earth elements, with global oxide production estimated at approximately 10 tonnes per year — a figure that reflects both its geological scarcity and its status as the last element recovered in heavy rare earth separation circuits.

Lutetium sits at the end of the lanthanide series and is classified as a heavy rare earth element. Its extreme rarity relative to other rare earths, combined with growing demand from medical radiopharmaceutical applications and specialist industrial uses, places it in a different pricing tier from the broader HREE complex. Pure lutetium metal, which requires energy-intensive reduction from the oxide, commands prices significantly above the oxide benchmark. For background on lutetium’s properties and applications, see the lutetium overview.

Current Lutetium Price

Lutetium pricing spans an exceptionally wide range across forms and end-use tiers. The SMM oxide benchmark is the primary industrial reference. Pure lutetium metal commands a substantial premium over the oxide reflecting the complexity of the reduction process. Medical-grade lutetium-177, the radioactive isotope used in targeted cancer therapy, is priced as a pharmaceutical product and operates outside normal commodity pricing structures entirely.

The oxide-to-metal premium — roughly 15 times at current prices — reflects lutetium’s position as the most difficult lanthanide to reduce to metal form. The element’s high melting point and the precision required to handle it without contamination make lutetium metal production technically demanding even by rare earth standards. Medical lutetium-177 pricing is determined by pharmaceutical reimbursement frameworks rather than commodity markets and is included for context only — it does not reflect industrial lutetium supply and demand.

Lutetium Price History

Lutetium oxide prices have followed the heavy rare earth complex through major market events but have historically maintained a significant premium over mid-tier HREEs such as erbium and holmium, reflecting its position as the rarest element at the end of the separation circuit. The 2011 export quota crisis affected lutetium severely in proportional terms; post-quota normalisation left lutetium at higher absolute levels than pre-2011 baselines, reflecting genuine supply constraints rather than purely policy-driven pricing.

What Is Driving Lutetium Prices

Lutetium demand is concentrated in a small number of high-value, low-volume end-uses. Lutetium aluminium garnet (LuAG) crystals are used as scintillators in positron emission tomography (PET) scanners — lutetium’s high density and effective atomic number make it superior to older yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG) scintillators for detecting gamma rays in medical imaging. The global expansion of PET scanning infrastructure, particularly in oncology diagnostics, represents a structurally growing demand stream.

Industrial applications include lutetium as a dopant in specialist laser crystals, as a catalyst in petroleum cracking and polymerisation reactions, and in high-refractive-index optical glass. These applications are niche in volume terms but consistent in demand, providing a stable baseline alongside the faster-growing medical sector.

Supply is constrained by lutetium’s geological scarcity. The element is the least abundant of the stable lanthanides and is recovered last in rare earth separation circuits — meaning its production volume is ultimately limited by the total throughput of heavy rare earth processing, not by dedicated lutetium mining. USGS Rare Earths Statistics estimates global lutetium oxide production at approximately 10 tonnes per year, with China accounting for the dominant share from ionic clay and monazite processing. This supply ceiling is essentially fixed in the near term — no processing expansion can meaningfully increase lutetium output without a corresponding increase in total HREE throughput.

Lutetium-177 and the Medical Demand Signal

Lutetium-177 (Lu-177) is a radioactive isotope produced in nuclear reactors by neutron irradiation of lutetium-176. It is the active component in targeted radionuclide therapy drugs including Lutathera (for neuroendocrine tumours) and Pluvicto (for metastatic prostate cancer) — both of which have received regulatory approval in major markets and are generating substantial clinical demand. A single clinical treatment course requires multiple doses, each priced at approximately $25,000 per vial in Western reimbursement frameworks.

The Lu-177 application does not consume large volumes of lutetium in commodity terms — the isotope is produced from highly enriched lutetium-176 feedstock in specialised reactors, and the total lutetium mass involved per patient treatment is measured in milligrams rather than kilograms. However, the application creates demand for high-purity, isotopically enriched lutetium feedstock that commands significant premiums over standard oxide and drives research investment in lutetium production technology that supports the broader supply chain. As Lu-177 therapy approvals expand to additional cancer indications, feedstock demand will grow on a trajectory that is relatively independent of industrial commodity pricing.

Western Lutetium Supply Development

No dedicated Western lutetium production facility currently operates at commercial scale. Lutetium would be recovered as a co-product from HREE separation circuits at projects advancing across North America, Australia, and Europe, but its position as the last and rarest element in the separation sequence means production volumes would be modest even at full project throughput. The medical isotope supply chain — which requires nuclear reactor access and radiopharmaceutical-grade processing — operates entirely separately from the industrial oxide market and is not addressed by conventional rare earth project development.

For the broader supply context, see the top rare earth producing countries and the China rare earth overview. For comparison with another heavy rare earth oxide price structure, see the erbium price page.

Lutetium Price Outlook

The near-term lutetium oxide price outlook remains steady. The SMM benchmark held in the $650–$680/kg range through much of mid-2026, rose to $756.96/kg in July, and has now spent a second straight month back within that earlier range — $673.14/kg in August and $666.79/kg in September — suggesting the July move was a one-off rather than the start of a new trend. Chinese export licensing continues to provide a structural floor for Western buyers, and PET scanner expansion in emerging market healthcare infrastructure adds a steady demand increment that is not large in absolute tonnage terms but is consistent and price-inelastic.

Medium-term upside is supported by Lu-177 therapy expansion. As targeted radionuclide therapy approvals extend to additional cancer indications — prostate, neuroendocrine, and several others in clinical development — the demand for enriched lutetium feedstock will grow on a multi-year trajectory. This demand is pharmaceutical in character and largely insensitive to commodity price movements, meaning it supports prices without the cyclical volatility that affects magnet rare earth markets. Lutetium is unlikely to return to the sub-$200/kg levels of the post-2012 trough given the structural demand changes from medical applications since that period. Within the rare earth elements complex, lutetium’s combination of geological scarcity and growing medical demand gives it one of the more constructive long-term price narratives of any element outside the NdPr-Dy-Tb magnet cluster.

Lutetium Price Per Gram, Ounce and Pound

The conversion table below is calculated from the SMM lutetium oxide industrial benchmark and updated monthly. Unlike most other rare earth price pages in this series, the SMM lutetium benchmark is quoted per kilogram rather than per tonne, reflecting the element’s high unit value and low traded volumes.

Prices are calculated from the SMM industrial benchmark and updated monthly. For lutetium metal and Lu-177 medical isotope pricing, see the Current Lutetium Price table above.

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

Lutetium Price in GBP, EUR and Other Currencies

Currency conversions are calculated from the SMM industrial benchmark using approximate exchange rates at the time of publication and are for reference only. For live rates, consult your preferred currency provider.