Ruthenium prices hit record high as AI boom squeezes supply


A block with the symbol, atomic number and mass number of Ruthenium (Ru) element in this illustration taken February 6, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

March ⁠16 (Reuters) - Ruthenium, a minor metal in the platinum-group ⁠metals (PGMs), has surged to an all-time high as ‌supply constraints and growing demand linked to artificial intelligence tighten the market, analysts and producers said.

Used in electronics, semiconductors, and chemical ​processing, ruthenium is seeing rising demand ⁠from AI-driven data storage ⁠and cloud computing. Expansion in data centre capacity is ⁠lifting ‌hard disk drive production, where the metal is used in magnetic layers.

(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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