June China Rare Earth Exports Rise, Stopped Two Month of Declines

From May to June, China’s rare earth exports rose by 9%, According to customs data on last Friday. Amid Sino-US trade disputes, a two-month decline has raised concerns about supplies from the world's largest producer of materials.

According to the data from general administration of customs. 3,966 tons of products containing 17 chemical elements, from high-tech consumer electronics to military equipment, were exported last month.

Figure of June was down 27.3% from a revised figure of 5455 tons for June last year. That was still up from 3640 in May, which was down sharply from April. Exports down 11.3% year-on-year by totaled 23232 tons, for the first half of 2019, the data showed.

China's rare earth exports have fluctuated sharply, recently reaching 5,421 tons in December and as low as 2,886 tons in February.

China has raised the prospect of restricting rare earth exports to the United States in retaliation for U.S. tariffs imposed in the tit-for-tat trade war, but has not publicly announced any restrictions.

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