Yttrium oxide sells for about $1.15 million a ton in Europe, compared with $9,144 in China, according to prices cited by Argus Media. The 125-fold gap is sharpening pressure over rare-earth supplies as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shenzhen.
China on Monday extended until Jan. 10 its pause on sweeping export controls announced in October 2025, Reuters reported. But the extension does not cover the curbs now affecting yttrium: Beijing imposed separate licensing rules in April 2025 for seven medium and heavy rare earths. The law firm Pillsbury listed those April measures among controls still in force when the October pause began last November.
China’s yttrium oxide exports are running at about two-fifths of their 2023-2024 average, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, with almost none going to Japan this year. Chinese customs data show Japan received 4,000 kilograms in September, down from 51,000 a year earlier, AFP reported last month. The Financial Times reported on Oct. 20 that Tokyo is months from running out and has asked Washington to press Beijing. A Japanese industry ministry official told AFP that global exports have stalled, creating a “supply-demand crunch.”
The shortage affects more than chipmaking. Yttrium protects turbine blades in gas-fired power plants and jet engines, Bloomberg reported. In July, the International Energy Agency warned that full implementation of the expanded Chinese controls—the measures now paused—could put about $6.5 trillion a year of downstream production outside China at risk.
Trump is expected to meet Xi on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen, scheduled for Nov. 18-19. Washington says rare earths are not flowing at the promised pace. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer asked Vice Premier He Lifeng for “concrete actions” during a recent video call. A former senior U.S. official told The National that some in the administration believe China has “overpromised and underdelivered.”
Alternative supplies remain distant. Lynas Rare Earths is not due to begin yttrium output at its Malaysian plant until 2028, Bloomberg reported. USA Rare Earth said this week it had sent its first yttrium oxide samples from a Colorado demonstration plant to an unnamed customer for testing, Metal Tech News reported. Argus pricing head for Asia Chi Hin Ling told Bloomberg that warehouse holdings are unclear because critical-mineral stockpiles are not transparent. “We always think the market is quite thin,” he said, describing how a seller might suddenly reveal 100 tons in storage and ask $1 million a ton.
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first!