TOKYO -- International prices for just about every of rare metal used in the manufacture of home appliances and other high-tech products, have sunk to their lowest levels in about 10 years.
Reasons for the slide are not hard to find. A prolonged supply glut in China means supply far outstrips demand. Global players, however, appear to have few options, as the issue of swollen inventories in the world's leading rare-metals producer is unlikely to go away anytime soon.
