a*****e
发帖数: 16445 | 3 果然是跟中国有关
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/22/us-china-rareearth-
idUSTRE72L10I20110322
China rare earth prices explode as export volumes collapse
By Tom Miles
BEIJING | Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:53am EDT
(Reuters) - China's exports of rare earth metals burst through the
$100,000-
per-tonne mark for the first time in February, up almost ninefold from a
year before, while the volume of trade stayed far below historical
averages.
China's squeeze on rare earths, which are used in a wide range of
hardware
including precision-guided weapons, hybrid car batteries and iPads, has
forced prices up dramatically since July last year, when each tonne
fetched
a mere $14,405 on average.
The apparent price rises have averaged $10,000 per tonne per month but
accelerated in February, galloping ahead by $34,000 per tonne, according
to
Reuters calculations based on data from China's Customs office.
Last month each tonne of exports was valued at $109,036, including the
cost
of insurance and freight, almost half as much again as the average value
in
January.
The explosion in export values has coincided with a collapse in volumes
coming out of China, the source of almost all the world's rare earth
supplies, which has cut export quotas of the 17 rare earth metals and
raised
tariffs on exports.
China's actions have infuriated its trading partners but lifted the
shares
of the few mining and prospecting companies outside China that are well-
placed to capitalize on the constriction of Chinese supply.
They include U.S. miner Molycorp Inc, Canada's Rare Element Resources
and
Neo Material Technologies and Australia's Arafura and Lynas.
But those firms' share prices have been under pressure this month
because
Japan's earthquake and tsunami are expected to temporarily slash demand
from
China's biggest customer. In February, 281 tonnes of Chinese exports
went
to Japan, valued at $38.9 million or $138,406 per tonne.
China exported a total of 750 tonnes in February, slightly more than the
647
tonnes shipped in January but otherwise the lowest monthly volume since
February 2009, when demand was hit by the global financial crisis.
China's Customs office changed its method of presenting rare earths
exports
in its headline data this year, boosting the reported volume by
including
products made from rare earth metals in the total.
By that method, exports were 2,976 tonnes in February, up by 132 percent
from a year before, when the figure did not include rare earth products.
(Editing by Ken Wills) |
