Japan Rare Metal Import Increases in November

Japanese rare metal import volume decreased for 11 items including rare earths, vanadium and titanium in November from a year earlier, according to the trade statistics by Ministry of Finance. The averaged unit price of imported rare metals surged up for 13 items such as rare earths and cobalt in November from a year earlier.Domestic demand was active for neodymium, a main material for neodymium-iron-boron magnet, and dysprosium, an additive element for Nd-Fe-B magnet. Demand was also strong for titanium but the unit price of imported titanium downed by 17.3% in November from a year earlier. The supply and demand balance is being easier with the supply expansion despite of the strong demand.Vanadium was actively consumed for special steels. The unit price of imported cobalt jumped up by 58.9% to 6,647 yen per kilogram in November from a year earlier. The international cobalt price is sharply surging with financial purchasing even without the actual demand.The unit price of imported indium also decreased in November year-on-year. The international indium price weakened when sputtering target material makers hold plenty indium stocks and the indium recycling rate is being improved.