[Financial News Focus] Price Surge! The global helium supply chain is impacted, and as a key raw material for multiple industries, the Middle East situation is driving helium prices significantly higher.

People’s Finance News, March 30—Affected by the situation in the Middle East, the global helium supply chain has been disrupted, while also spilling over into more other industries. Helium is an important input raw material for multiple industries, especially in the technology sector, where it is widely used in fields such as semiconductors, aerospace, electronics manufacturing, and medical imaging. According to a report by CCTV News, Iran’s earlier attacks on Qatar’s natural gas export facilities have not only disrupted global energy markets, but also posed a threat to global technology industry supply chains. Because helium—the natural gas byproduct produced by Qatar—is crucial to many high-tech industries, including semiconductors. Qatar sits on the world’s largest single-day natural gas field, and its Ras Laffan facilities are the world’s largest LNG processing plants. Helium is refined there as a byproduct of natural gas production, accounting for about 30% of the global helium supply. Qatar’s natural gas company announced in early March that, due to repeated attacks, it would pause the production of LNG and “related byproducts.” The company issued a warning: its natural gas facilities suffered severe damage, repair work would take years, and it also expects its annual helium export volume to be cut by 14%. Fitch Ratings said that, as the conflict in Iran continues and Qatar’s natural gas supply disruption persists, the tail risks facing Asia’s semiconductor supply chain due to tightening helium are rising. Under Fitch’s baseline scenario, cost pressure is a secondary issue, but major impacts can also occur when supply is disrupted for the long term. In a severe shortage scenario, spot helium prices could jump by 50%–200%. Contract prices are usually more stable, but may still rise by 20%–40% during renegotiations. Some institutions believe that, given that Qatar’s domestic helium inventory levels are only 1–2 months and that disruptions to Qatar’s helium supply began in late February, inventory levels in April are even more tight, and the domestic helium price increase in April may be steeper.