Mercury Price Trend and Forecast 2026-2027

Mercury is a dense liquid metal used in relays and switches, dental amalgam, lamps, vinyl chloride catalysts and small scale gold mining. World mine output was 210 tonnes in 2025, of which China produced 200 tonnes, about 95 percent, while Kyrgyzstan produced 5 tonnes and Tajikistan 4 tonnes.

US import unit values were USD 29,000 per tonne in 2021, USD 33,000 in 2022, USD 22,000 in 2023 and USD 50,000 in 2024. Chinese 99.9 percent mercury traded at USD 171,500 to 174,500 per tonne ex-VAT in April 2024, and a late 2025 interview put the rise in Chinese prices at nearly 200 percent over two years. In April 2026 Chinese buyers described prices as above historical highs.

Mercury Prices in October 2026

Indian suppliers listed 99.9 percent mercury at USD 363,000 to 415,000 per tonne in September 2026 in small lot retail quotes, while Chinese catalyst makers said in April 2026 that prices exceeded historical highs. Prices are expected to stay high in October. The price outlook is shaped by four key drivers.

• Gold price: Gold traded above USD 5,000 per ounce in May 2026, which experts link to more illegal mining sites and higher mercury demand, before easing to USD 4,187 per ounce in October 2026.
• Trafficking: Indonesian authorities seized 760 bottles of mercury hidden in carpet rolls at Tanjung Priok in April 2026, bound for the Philippines, and Philippine groups reported continued smuggling and online sales in August 2026, showing persistent illicit demand.
• Artisanal mining: Zimbabwe's environmental agency acknowledged in June 2026 continued clandestine mercury imports, with artisanal mining using more than 50 tonnes a year and 96 percent of artisanal sites still using mercury.
• Minamata decisions: Parties to the Minamata Convention set a 2034 phase out for dental amalgam in November 2025, deferred the vinyl chloride catalyst decision to the 2027 meeting and asked for guidance on primary mining trade, narrowing long term legal demand.

Supplier news: Interpol reported in October 2026 an operation from June to July across nine countries with 233 arrests, in which Costa Rica seized 11 containers of mercury. Chinese buyers and traders met price analysts in August and September 2026, and a catalyst maker said it could not pass higher costs to customers. Short term, tight Chinese supply keeps prices high. Long term, Minamata phase outs reduce legal demand.

Mercury Price Forecast for 2026

The Minamata Convention's ongoing phase-out of primary mining, combined with the European Union's expanding restrictions on mercury-containing products, shows no sign of reversing, which points toward continued firmness through H2 2026. China's dominant production position should remain the primary source of whatever legal supply reaches the rest of the market.

Further European Union restrictions, or tighter enforcement of existing Minamata Convention provisions, could be what pushes prices above this forecast. A relaxation of trade restrictions, which appears unlikely given the treaty's trajectory, or reduced demand from remaining permitted applications, could be what eases the market back toward the lower end instead.

For the Quarter Ending June 2026

Mercury Prices Q2 2026:

• United States: USD 70.00/KG
• China: USD 56.00/KG
• Germany: USD 68.00/KG
• India: USD 60.00/KG

Mercury Prices in United States

The United States price moved from about USD 66.00/KG to near USD 70.00/KG, a gain of just above 6.1%. It was continued tightening under the Minamata Convention, together with the European Union's ban on additional mercury-containing lamp types taking effect this quarter, that carried the increase.

Why did the price of Mercury change in Q2 2026 in United States?

The European Union's provisional regulation banning the production, export, and import of several more mercury-containing lamp types took effect around this point in the year, and it is this removal of a legal supply channel, combined with the broader treaty-driven tightening under the Minamata Convention, that appears to explain the continued United States price climb.

Mercury Prices in China

The Chinese price moved from about USD 52.00/KG to near USD 56.00/KG, a gain of just above 7.7%. It was China's own environmental enforcement, layered onto the broader Minamata Convention framework, that carried the increase even in the market that produces the large majority of what little mercury is still mined.

Why did the price of Mercury change in Q2 2026 in China?

China accounted for roughly two hundred of the two hundred ten metric tons of global mine production in 2025, making it by far the dominant remaining source, and it is this near-monopoly position, combined with tightening domestic environmental enforcement, that has let Chinese pricing climb even as it remains the least expensive of the four markets tracked.

Mercury Prices in Germany

The German price moved from about USD 63.00/KG to near USD 68.00/KG, a gain of just above 7.9%. It was the European Union's ban on producing, exporting, and importing several additional types of mercury-containing lamps, which took effect around this point in the year, that carried the sharp increase.

Why did the price of Mercury change in Q2 2026 in Germany?

Historical reference pricing for mercury was long assessed on the 34.5-kilogram flask, in-warehouse at Rotterdam, and while that assessment is now thinly traded, Germany and the broader European market still carry a meaningful premium tied to the region's own additional restrictions layered on top of the Minamata Convention, and it is this combination that explains why German pricing moved sharply higher this quarter.

Mercury Prices in India

The Indian price moved from about USD 56.00/KG to near USD 60.00/KG, a gain of just above 7.1%. It was continued import dependence, meeting the same treaty-driven global scarcity affecting every market tracked, that carried the increase.

Why did the price of Mercury change in Q2 2026 in India?

India depends on imports to meet its remaining permitted uses, mostly tied to legacy applications and small-scale gold mining that international guidelines are working to phase out, and it is this import dependence, combined with the shrinking pool of legal global supply, that has kept Indian pricing climbing in step with the broader market.

For the Quarter Ending March 2026

Mercury Prices Q1 2026:

• United States: USD 66.00/KG
• China: USD 52.00/KG
• Germany: USD 63.00/KG
• India: USD 56.00/KG

Mercury Prices in United States

The price reached close to USD 66.00/KG in Q1 2026, a rise of just above 6.5% from Q4 2025. It was continued legal supply restrictions under the Minamata Convention, together with China's dominant hold on remaining production, that pushed the market higher.

Why did the price of Mercury change in Q1 2026 in United States?

Mercury has no futures market and no centralized exchange of any kind, a direct consequence of the treaty restrictions governing its trade, and it was this structural scarcity of legal supply, meeting steady demand from the narrow set of applications still permitted, that drove the United States increase.

Mercury Prices in China

The price reached close to USD 52.00/KG in Q1 2026, a rise of just above 8.3% from Q4 2025. It was tightening domestic environmental enforcement, together with steady export demand from remaining permitted applications, that pushed the market higher.

Why did the price of Mercury change in Q1 2026 in China?

Domestic environmental enforcement around mercury mining and processing tightened further entering the year, and it was this pressure, meeting steady demand from the narrow band of applications still permitted under international treaty, that drove the Chinese increase.

Mercury Prices in Germany

The price reached close to USD 63.00/KG in Q1 2026, a rise of just above 8.6% from Q4 2025. It was the European Union's earlier ban on dental amalgam exports, together with anticipation of the additional lamp restrictions to follow, that pushed the market higher.

Why did the price of Mercury change in Q1 2026 in Germany?

The European Union's Zero Pollution goal had already banned the export of dental amalgams the year before, and it was anticipation of the further lamp-type restrictions still to come, combined with the broader treaty-driven scarcity affecting every market tracked here, that drove the German increase entering the year.

Mercury Prices in India

The price reached close to USD 56.00/KG in Q1 2026, a rise of just above 7.7% from Q4 2025. It was tightening global supply under the Minamata Convention, together with steady demand from legacy industrial applications, that pushed the market higher.

Why did the price of Mercury change in Q1 2026 in India?

Global legal supply kept tightening under the Minamata Convention framework entering the year, and it was this scarcity, meeting steady demand from India's remaining permitted uses, that drove the increase.

Quarterly Mercury Price Trends

This market climbed steadily across every quarter tracked here. Close to USD 48.25/KG in Q1 2025 rose to about USD 50.50/KG, near USD 52.75/KG, and close to USD 55.00/KG by Q4, before continuing to about USD 59.25/KG in Q1 2026 and near USD 63.50/KG in Q2. That is a rise of roughly 31.6% across the window, tracking treaty-driven supply tightening and expanding regional restrictions closely.

What was Mercury Price in 2025?

It was the Minamata Convention's ongoing phase-out of primary mining, meeting a legal market that keeps shrinking as more countries implement the treaty's provisions, that drove the consistent 2025 climb. The global average opened near USD 48.25/KG in Q1 and climbed to close to USD 55.00/KG by Q4, a rise of just above 14.0% for the year, with official United States import data confirming a similar doubling pattern over recent years.

Mercury Prices in United States in 2025

The United States price climbed from about USD 55.00/KG in Q1 2025 to near USD 62.00/KG by Q4, a rise of just above 12.7% for the year. It was the Minamata Convention's ongoing phase-out of primary mining and restrictions on most international trade, meeting demand that has not disappeared even as legal supply has, that drove the sustained climb through 2025, extending a pattern already visible in official United States import data.

Mercury Prices in China in 2025

The Chinese price climbed from about USD 42.00/KG in Q1 2025 to near USD 48.00/KG by Q4, a rise of just above 14.3% for the year. It was China's dominant position as the source of nearly all remaining global mine production, meeting a legal market that keeps shrinking under Minamata Convention restrictions, that drove the sustained climb through 2025, even from the world's lowest-cost producer.

Mercury Prices in Germany in 2025

The German price climbed from about USD 50.00/KG in Q1 2025 to near USD 58.00/KG by Q4, a rise of just above 16.0% for the year, the largest annual gain among the four markets tracked. It was the European Union's Zero Pollution goal, which banned dental amalgam exports starting in January 2025 and set up further restrictions on mercury-containing lamps to follow, that drove the sustained climb through 2025.

Mercury Prices in India in 2025

The Indian price climbed from about USD 46.00/KG in Q1 2025 to near USD 52.00/KG by Q4, a rise of just above 13.0% for the year. It was import dependence on a shrinking pool of legal global supply, meeting demand tied to legacy industrial applications and small-scale gold mining, that drove the sustained climb through 2025.

How We Can Help

Expert Market Research: Your Source for Real-Time Mercury Price Intelligence

The Mercury market operates unlike almost any other commodity tracked in this series, since treaty restrictions rather than conventional supply and demand now set the terms of trade, so Expert Market Research follows Minamata Convention implementation and China's production position closely alongside regional restrictions including European Union bans across the four markets covered here. This is combined with trade flow data to build the forecasts. Should the Mercury pricing data or procurement strategy support be needed, the team is ready to help.