CME to launch cash-settled tungsten futures in H1 2027, pending regulatory approval

CME Group plans to launch cash-settled tungsten futures on COMEX in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approval. The contract would be based on Fastmarkets’ ammonium paratungstate assessment on a duty-unpaid cost-insurance-and-freight basis in Rotterdam and Baltimore, with no physical delivery. Tungsten is used in jet engines, military ammunition, and semiconductor equipment, and the U.S., European Union, Japan, and India classify it as a critical mineral. China imposed export licensing on tungsten on February 4, 2025, and cut its mining quota for a third consecutive year; Fastmarkets reported Chinese tungsten product prices rose more than 200% in 2025.