SHANGHAI, Aug 4 (SMM) - China's exports of lanthanum oxide soared 60% year on year to 959 mt in June, up 16% month on month. China exported 4,385 mt of lanthanum oxide in the first half of the year, an increase of 27% year on year.
China's cerium oxide exports surged 62% year on year to 261 mt in June, a drop of 23% from May. China exported 1,996 mt of cerium oxide in H1, an increase of 24% year on year.
China’s top five destination countries of lanthanum oxide exports in H1 include the United States (2180 mt, 50%), Japan (668 mt, 15%), South Korea (556 mt, 13%), Brazil (400 mt, 9%) and Italy (154 mt, 4%); key destination countries of cerium oxide include Netherlands (374 mt, 19%), Japan (303 mt, 15%), South Korea (210 mt, 11%), Italy (185 mt, 9%) and France (175 mt, 9%).
Prices of downstream products of lanthanum oxide and cerium oxide also weakened. The average price of lanthanum and cerium metal fell 6% year on year to 28,500 yuan/mt in July. Lower metal output at several plants in Inner Mongolia, driven by high temperatures and power restrictions, failed to bolster prices.
SMM data showed that the average price of lanthanum oxide in China fell 19% to 8,750 yuan/mt year on year in July, and the average price of cerium oxide dipped 15% year on year to 9,191 yuan/mt. Prices of other representative rare earth products like didymium oxide, terbium oxide and dysprosium oxide, rose 90%, 57% and 35% year on year, respectively, in July.
China's exports of lanthanum oxide and cerium oxide in July are expected to fall sharply to the lowest level for the year amid closures among European clients in summer.
