Helium Prices Are Up, Up, and Away

If you were planning to use balloons for a celebration this summer, you might want to start thinking about other, less expensive decorations.

Helium spot prices have more than doubled since the Middle East crisis started in February. That's partly because helium travels there. About a third of the world's supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a higher share than even global oil.

Helium has a secret life in the economy beyond balloons.

It is used in chip fabrication for the silicon wafers that become your phone's brain. It's sealed inside every large hard drive humming away in the data centers that power AI. And without it, MRI machines go dark. Helium is what keeps their magnets cold enough to work.

You may be saying, “I’ve seen this movie before with coffee and cocoa.” Prices spiked, but corrected once harvests recovered. By summer, everything will be fine.

Maybe.

Helium doesn't grow back.

Qatar, which produced nearly a third of the world's helium, has seen its mining facilities damaged during the crisis, so full recovery is expected to take years, not seasons.

So it may be best to stock up on streamers and other decorations until the helium market starts to “deflate.” Besides, after reading this email, you can dazzle your party guests by telling tales of why there are no balloons at the celebration this year! 

^{Politico.com, March 2026}