Yttrium Price Today: Industrial Benchmark & Outlook

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

Yttrium price stands at $34.82 per kilogram on the Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) industrial benchmark as of 3 September 2026, up 0.52% from $34.64/kg at the August benchmark, with the VAT-excluded, delivered-to-works China price ranging from $34.16 to $35.47/kg intraday on 3 September. The yttrium price has historically been volatile: oxide prices surged above $100/kg during China’s 2011 export quota crisis before collapsing through the 2010s, and geopolitical supply pressures drove further spikes in 2025.

Yttrium is classified as a rare earth element (REE) by convention, though it sits in Group 3 of the periodic table rather than the lanthanide series. It is predominantly produced as a co-product of heavy rare earth mining, making its price sensitive to overall HREE supply dynamics rather than dedicated yttrium mine output. China accounts for more than 90% of global yttrium production.

Current Yttrium Price

The table below reflects the current yttrium price across industrial and retail markets. SMM tracks the China domestic benchmark — the primary reference for global industrial buyers. Retail investor prices for yttrium compounds, where traded, carry a substantial premium reflecting processing, packaging, and distribution costs.

The gap between industrial and retail yttrium prices reflects purity processing, small-lot packaging, and the absence of a liquid spot market for retail volumes. Industrial contracts are settled on Chinese domestic benchmarks; Western buyers typically pay a premium over SMM for delivered material.

Yttrium Price History

Yttrium prices are not tracked with the same granularity as magnet rare earths — no major exchange maintains a daily yttrium metal futures contract. The SMM benchmark provides the most reliable monthly reference for industrial-grade material. Historical price movements have been driven almost entirely by Chinese policy rather than Western supply-demand dynamics.

What Is Driving Yttrium Prices

Yttrium demand is split across several end-use sectors, none of which is dominant enough to move prices in isolation. Phosphors for LED lighting and display panels represent the largest volume end-use. Yttrium-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) is essential for thermal barrier coatings in jet engines and industrial gas turbines — a sector with long qualification cycles that insulates against short-term price swings. Yttrium is also used in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) materials for microwave filters in defence and telecommunications systems.

On the supply side, yttrium output is structurally tied to heavy rare earth production at Chinese ionic clay deposits in Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong provinces. Any tightening of Chinese environmental controls or export licensing affecting HREE output directly reduces yttrium availability. The USGS Rare Earths Statistics estimates global yttrium production at approximately 8,000–10,000 tonnes annually, with China controlling over 90% of output.

China’s 2025 export licensing regime, which extended controls to yttrium and a range of HREE compounds, has added a structural floor to prices that was absent in the 2015–2019 trough period. Western buyers now factor licence processing times — typically 45–90 days — into procurement planning, reducing spot-market flexibility and supporting price stability at higher levels than the pre-2023 baseline.

Western Yttrium Supply Development

Western yttrium supply development is at an early stage. Yttrium is present in most HREE-bearing deposits in commercially significant concentrations, meaning projects advancing toward production across North America, Australia, and Europe would contribute yttrium supply as a co-product. Australia’s ionic clay deposits in Queensland carry yttrium concentrations comparable to Chinese Southern clay operations. No dedicated Western yttrium facility is currently in production.

The top rare earth producing countries outside China with yttrium-bearing resources include Australia, the United States, Canada, and several African jurisdictions. For the full project pipeline, see the yttrium overview and yttrium uses guide.

Yttrium Price Outlook

The near-term yttrium price outlook has stabilised, with the benchmark up a modest 0.52% into September after August’s 9.4% pullback — a sign the metal is settling rather than trending strongly in either direction. Chinese export licensing controls provide a structural floor that limits a return to the sub-$10/kg levels of the mid-2010s. Phosphor demand from the LED and display sectors is mature and growing only modestly, limiting upside pressure from the largest volume end-use. The more dynamic demand driver is the aerospace thermal barrier coating segment, where yttrium-stabilised zirconia qualification cycles are long and pricing inelastic.

Medium-term risk to yttrium prices is skewed to the upside. Any acceleration of Chinese HREE export restrictions — affecting the ionic clay deposits that co-produce yttrium — would tighten supply faster than Western projects can respond. Analysts at Argus Media and Adamas Intelligence note that Western HREE processing capacity remains years from commercial scale, sustaining Chinese price influence through at least 2028.

Yttrium vs Ytterbium

Yttrium and ytterbium are often confused due to similar names — both were originally discovered in the same Swedish quarry at Ytterby. They are chemically distinct elements with different end-use profiles and pricing structures. Ytterbium is a true heavy lanthanide with a narrower market, primarily in fibre laser gain media and nuclear shielding applications, and trades at significantly higher prices than yttrium metal. For current ytterbium pricing, see the ytterbium price page.

Yttrium’s market is larger in volume terms and more diversified across end-uses, producing lower per-kilogram values but more stable demand. The two elements do not compete in end-use markets and their prices are not correlated.

Yttrium Price Per Gram, Ounce and Pound

Yttrium 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 retail investor prices, see the Current Yttrium Price table above.

China’s dominance of global yttrium supply and its expanding export licensing regime mean that Western buyers are increasingly exposed to procurement risk that the SMM benchmark alone does not capture. For broader context on China’s supply strategy, see the China rare earth overview and the complete rare earth elements guide.

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