Japan Rare Metal Import Slightly Slows in June

Japanese indium import was 48 tonnes in June, which increased by 37% from a year earlier while decreased by about 10 tonnes compared with the historically high volume marked in April and May, according to the trade statistics by Ministry of Finance. Some of Japanese indium users slowed down material procurement when liquid crystal panel market entered adjustment phase.

Japanese rare earth import was 626 tonnes in June, decreasing by 5% from a year earlier. Meanwhile, the volume exceeded the yearly record 617 tonnes marked in May. The import unit price was 9,856 tonnes per kilogram, almost four times of a year earlier. The market price has been continuously surging such for neodymium used for permanent magnet of motors.

Among rare earth elements, Japanese import decreased by 58% to 157 tonnes for cerium oxide in June from a year earlier, decreased by 28% to 173 tonnes for lanthanum oxide while increased by 26% to 134 tonnes for yttrium oxide. The unit prices jumped to 5-10 times in June from a year earlier to reflect international market price upsurge.