Rare earths
Rare earths prices began their descent in September after a bullish summer at historically-high levels.
Towards the end of August the market started to shift uneasily as it became harder to justify the price increases so readily made at the height of summer. Prices started to fall off, but the market was unconvinced this was a trend.
“This is a seasonal lull,” one trader confided, while another assured that the market would pick up again as soon as traders returned to their desks after the summer break.
But, that did not happen. If anything, prices were downgraded further once the market picked up volume. This led to some questioning the validity of the summer-high prices.
Europium oxide (FOB China), for example, was downgraded gradually from highs of $5,880/kg almost as soon as it reached the level , reaching $5,400/kg at the start of September before being assessed...