Japan Rare Earth Import Prices Soar in March

The averaged unit prices of Japanese rare earth and accompanied material imports surged up year-on-year in March, according to the trade statistics by Ministry of Finance. The averaged unit price of imported rare earths soared by 27.1% year-on-year to 3,009 yen per kilogram in March. The prices represented upsurge for cerium oxide, yttrium oxide and lanthanum oxide as well. Import volumes of these rare metals decreased year-on-year in March but the international spot price surged up due to Chinese export regulation.Japanese import of molybdenum concentrate decreased by 1.5% year-on-year in March, though Japanese molybdenum producer source said the domestic demand kept steady mainly from special steel makers. The averaged unit price of imported molybdenum concentrate soared by 15.6% to reflect the high level of international spot price. The import volume of vanadium increased by 87.8% year-on-year, used as steel making additives. The unit price also surged up.The titanium import jumped up by 2.9 times year-on-year in March. The unit price downed to reflect easier supply and demand balance. The indium import volume slightly decreased year-on-year while the unit price dropped down by 43.8%.