As you are probably aware, China is seeking “to trim its exports of rare earths for the first time in two years, despite international pressure on Beijing to ease its grip on global supplies of the key minerals,” reported The Wall Street Journal on Friday, December 13, 2013.
Here are the details…
“Despite a shrinking share of global output as rivals gear up production, China still controls about 80% of the world’s supply of the 17 minerals, which are used to make everything from consumer electronics to car components to defense systems. Beijing controls release of the supply through export quotas, though China hasn’t met its quotas over the past two years amid weakened demand.”
“On Friday, China’s Commerce Ministry said it would set its first batch of rare-earth export quotas for 2014 at 15,110 metric tons, a 2.5% decline from the same batch last year. The quota for the first half of the year generally sets the trend for the year as a whole, as the first batch has generally been about half of the full-year quota. The government generally issues a second rare-earth quota around July.”
MetalMiner explored the topic a bit more yesterday in this article, so be sure to take a look and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
A 7.1 percent decline in yttria made it the biggest mover of the week on the weekly Rare Earths MMI®. Samarium oxide dropped 5.0 percent over the past week. Lanthanum oxide prices fell, down from a week ago.
After a 2.8 percent decline, terbium oxide closed out the week. Praseodymium neodymium oxide fell 1.5 percent over the past week. Praseodymium neodymium oxide prices were off slightly, down from a week ago. Prices for cerium oxide remained constant.
Following a steady week, prices for europium oxide closed flat. Neodymium remained essentially flat from the previous week. The price of neodymium oxide did not change since the previous week. Praseodymium oxide remained unchanged for the week.
The week finished with no movement for rare earth carbonate. Following a steady week, prices for terbium metal closed flat. The week finished with no movement for yttrium.
The Rare Earths MMI® collects and weights 14 global rare earth metal price points to provide a unique view into rare earth metal price trends. For more information on the Rare Earths MMI®, how it’s calculated or how your company can use the index, please drop us a note at: info (at) agmetalminer (dot) com.