Metal boom: The indium price has more than doubled over the past 3 years. Is a fivefold increase next?

What we are seeing here is a full-blown hype. Only those who recognize that can also imagine where the indium price could be headed in six years. We are currently in a commodities cycle, which means around 15 years of rising commodity prices. You can see this, for example, in silver, whose value has risen by 10.7% over the past 3 years and has gained strongly in recent months. However, the steep rise in the indium price over the past three years breaks all bounds. Since 01/01/2021, the price of this metal has increased by an incredible 128.7%. Not even Bitcoin tops that, having gained 107.8% over the same period. As a result, return-focused investors must ask themselves: Could a kilogram of indium cost €3,000 or even more in six years? That is entirely possible, because indium will become increasingly important in the future.

Indium investors participate directly in major megatrends. One of the best known is the green transition. Indium is part of high-performance thin-film solar cells, which, due to their flexibility, can also be installed on building facades that are unsuitable for conventional solar systems. This allows investors to benefit from the growth market in the solar industry. In addition, indium stands for high tech like almost no other metal: as transparent conductive indium tin oxide, it is part of everyday life in mobile phone and computer screens. The military also needs this technology metal as a material for state-of-the-art electronics, such as those found in radar systems and missile defense. Indium-doped semiconductors and optoelectronic components made of indium phosphide or indium gallium arsenide are indispensable for modern defense today.

The best time to invest in indium was three years ago. The second-best is now. Anyone who invested back then was able to more than double their investment amount. Indium made its most impressive sprint when China announced export controls for gallium and germanium in August 2023. Although indium was not affected by the controls at all, its price has risen by 26.3% from the time of the controls to now. The mere thought that this metal could become scarce apparently was enough to send its price soaring.

It is entirely possible that indium will also be affected by export controls at some point. In 2023, 66% of the world’s production volume of the metal came from China, with the rest from South Korea and Japan. The Communist Party of China could therefore also use this metal to pursue political objectives through an artificial shortage. This would most likely result in far more than a brief shock spike in the indium price.

Given these prospects, one recommended strategy could be to buy this metal before its price explodes again. Noble BC sells indium with a market-unusual purity of 99.9995%—that is, one more “9” after the decimal point than other providers. When you sell your indium, this makes it quicker and easier to find buyers in industry.

If you do not want to put all your eggs in one basket or are generally looking for additional ways to diversify your portfolio, we have another idea for you: terbium oxide. It is one of the most valuable rare earths and indispensable for the European magnet supply chain. The only “drawback” of this heavy rare earth is that it is hopelessly undervalued. The hype will come—so take advantage of this first-class opportunity and buy terbium oxide at an exceptionally favorable price.