Surging Rare Metals Market

Rare metals market keeps renewing record prices. The prices jumped for bismuth, for which demand grows as substitute of lead, and cadmium used for nickel-cadmium battery under tight supply. The bismuth price doubled from the beginning of the year while the cadmium price hit 16 year high. The bismuth price increased by US$ 2.50 to record US$ 13.50-14.00 per pound for product with 99.99% purity in Europe last week. The supply of the by-product of lead is limited due to higher lead output from recycled materials under growing demand as substitute of lead under Restricting the user of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). Japanese major smelter source said the firm cannot meet the higher demand. The cadmium price increased by 17% to US$ 2.70-2.80 per pound for product with 99.99% purity last week ,which was 63% higher than the level in the beginning of the year. The smelting capacity decreased due to low price market in years while the demand increased for battery in China and developing countries despite of the shift to lithium ion battery in developed countries.