Japan Rare Earth Import Increases in April

Japanese rare earth import volume increased for 10 items including rare earths, lithium, titanium and antimony in April from a year earlier, according to trade statistics by Ministry of Finance. The unit price of imported rare metal increased for 15 items, which especially doubled for rare earths from a year ago. Rare metal prices maintains in the up trend.The import volume of rare earths increased by 11.9% to 940 tonnes in April from a year earlier. Domestic users seem to secure enough inventories when China, the world largest producer of rare earths, reinforces the regulation on rare earths. However, Japanese import volume increased in April when the demand was active for neodymium-iron-boron magnet and misch metal, which is used for hydrogen storage alloy.The import volume of lithium increased by 2.4% to 1,360 tonnes in April from a year ago thanks to the active demand for secondary cells. The unit price of imported lithium surged by 58.6% to 709 yen per kilogram. The import volume of indium, which is used for flat panel displays, decreased by 58.5% in April from a year ago. Domestic sputtering target makers seemed to stop indium procurement when the liquid crystal display market was in an adjustment phase. The unit price of imported indium downed by 24.8% in April from a year earlier. The import volume of antimony, which is used for fire retardant of plastic, increased by 15.4% in April from a year ago. Japanese antimony maker source said the domestic demand keeps steady despite of the adjustment in the electronics related markets. The unit price upped by 18.1% to reflect the upsurge of the international price.