Prices of rare earths are set to fall this year, analysts say, as automakers and other companies begin phasing the minerals out of their products, Bloomberg reported. China, which produces around 90% of the world’s rare earths, said in July 2010 that it would begin cutting exports and consolidating the industry, ostensibly for environmental reasons. That has encouraged companies like Toyota Corp (7203.TYO) and General Electric (GE.NYSE) to recycle existing rare earths and modify their designs to use substitutes. Prices declines overall in August and September following a five-month, fourfold increase in rare earths prices. Prices for cerium and lanthanum, the most abundant rare earths, will drop by half in the next 12 months, predicted Christopher Ecclestone, an analyst at Hallgarten & Co in New York.
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