Japan Bismuth Import Up, Rare Earth, Indimium, Titanium Down in August

Japanese bismuth import increased by 17.5% to 67 tonnes in August from a year earlier, according to the trade statistics by Ministry of Finance. The demand increased for free-cutting steels and free-cutting alloy bars as a substitution for lead under an influence of environmental regulations. The averaged unit price of imported bismuth jumped up to 4.2 times or 4,738 yen per kilogram in August from a year earlier. Bismuth is produced as a by-product of lead smelting. The production cannot be controlled along the actual demand. Bismuth international price surged up then.Japanese import of rare earths decreased by 25.7% to 654 tonnes in August from a year ago while the averaged unit price jumped up to 2.2 times or 4,228 yen per kg. Indium import decreased by 9% from a year earlier and the averaged unit price downed to 74,249 yen per kg to reflect the decline of the international price. Titanium import decreased by 11.7% in August from a year earlier, which represented year-to-year down for the first time in 2007. The import temporarily settled down though titanium demand maintains strong for plants, automobiles and motorcycles. The averaged unit price downed by 1.6%.