← Where the supply chain is broken, and where knowledge is missing
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Opaque prices
Copper and nickel trade on an exchange, and the World Bank republishes their monthly averages under an open licence. For the other eight materials the atlas has found no open price series. Their prices are assessed by price-reporting agencies and sold under licence, or are agreed privately.
The atlas shows only open series, labelled monthly and indicative. It does not scrape exchanges or price services. Where no open series exists, the row says so.
A registry that classifies each material as exchange-traded, assessed only by a price-reporting agency, or opaque needs a cited source for every entry. It is not filled in yet, so no badge is shown.
Open price series, by material
Price
monthly, indicative15 436$/mt, Oct 2026
+2.3% against a year earlier (Oct 2025: 15 092)
Series as the World Bank defines it: Nickel (LME), cathodes, minimum 99.8% purity, settlement price beginning 2005; previously cash price. The World Bank compiles it from: Bloomberg Finance L.P.; Platts Metals Week, Thomson Reuters Datastream; World Bank. Monthly averages in nominal US dollars, for orientation only. Not a quote.
Price
monthly, indicative14 508$/mt, Oct 2026
+35.1% against a year earlier (Oct 2025: 10 740)
Series as the World Bank defines it: Copper (LME), grade A, minimum 99.9935% purity, cathodes and wire bar shapes, settlement price. The World Bank compiles it from: Bloomberg Finance L.P.; Engineering and Mining Journal; Platts Metals Week; Thomson Reuters Datastream; World Bank. Monthly averages in nominal US dollars, for orientation only. Not a quote.
- LithiumNo open series. Prices for this material are sold under licence or agreed privately, so none is shown.
- CobaltNo open series. Prices for this material are sold under licence or agreed privately, so none is shown.
- GraphiteNo open series. Prices for this material are sold under licence or agreed privately, so none is shown.
- Rare earthsNo open series. Prices for this material are sold under licence or agreed privately, so none is shown.
- GalliumNo open series. Prices for this material are sold under licence or agreed privately, so none is shown.
- GermaniumNo open series. Prices for this material are sold under licence or agreed privately, so none is shown.
- TungstenNo open series. Prices for this material are sold under licence or agreed privately, so none is shown.
- AntimonyNo open series. Prices for this material are sold under licence or agreed privately, so none is shown.
Exchange, agency-assessed or opaque?
Not classified yet. Each classification needs a cited source describing the benchmark, and the registry has no entries so far.
What would fix this
- Open, citable price series for the minor metals: for example customs unit values, or official statistics that publish average prices.
- A sourced registry of which benchmark exists for which material and who publishes it. Each entry needs a link to the publisher's own description.
- Unit values from trade data (value divided by quantity) can serve as a rough open proxy. The atlas has the data; the method needs care with mixed HS codes before it is shown.