Japan Rare Earth Import Drops by 14% in June

Japanese rare earth metals import decreased by 14% to 651 tonnes in June from a year earlier, announced by Ministry of Finance. The average unit price of rare earth decreased by 7% to 218 yen per kilogram while the average unit price increased for rare earth oxide products including cerium, yttrium and lanthanum.Rare earth metals price decreased under easier supply when Chinese output keeps increasing despite of export restriction by the government. The demand is slowing when the growth rate gets slow for permanent magnet despite of the demand expansion. The price keeps high for metal neodymium and metal dysprosium while some dealers liquidate the overstock at lower price. Japanese import of indium, which is used for transparent electrode of liquid crystal panel, decreased by 30% to 30 tonnes in June from a year earlier. Japanese major sputtering target materials makers are still reluctant to import the material when the large sized liquid crystal panel market is in inventory adjustment.