By Anushree Mukherjee and Shariq Khan

(Reuters) -U.S. shale drillers are facing higher prices for tungsten, a rare, ultra-hard metal used for industrial tools like drillbits, as Chinese export controls have squeezed supply, threatening U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambitions to boost America’s fossil fuel production.

Tungsten makes up as much as 75% of the drillbits deployed in oilfields. The metal’s price has surged to over $600 per metric ton unit from around $330–$340 in early February, when Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese goods and Beijing hit back with curbs on exports of five critical metals, including tungsten.

While the curbs fall short of an outright ban, previous such measures have sharply curtailed exports.

China controls more than two-thirds of global tungsten product

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