April 16 update:
Rare earth ore:
Today, rare earth carbonate price range was 62,600-63,000 yuan/mt, monazite prices adjusted to 4.8-5.3 yuan/mt, and medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore prices were approximately 251,000-252,000 yuan/mt. Recently, rare earth ore trading activity was sluggish, and actual transaction prices of some rare earth ores did not rise along with rare earth oxide prices. Reduced production and shutdowns at separation plants further contracted rare earth ore demand.
Rare earth oxides:
Lanthanum oxide prices continued to edge up overall this week, with prices adjusted to 5,000-5,800 yuan/mt. The cerium oxide market saw relatively stable prices recently, holding steady at 14,000-14,500 yuan/mt within the week. Pr-Nd oxide market prices, supported by raw material costs and expectations of reduced upstream supply, saw notably improved downstream purchasing activity. Suppliers raised their offers one after another, and low-priced supplies tightened rapidly. As of today, Pr-Nd oxide prices rose to 773,000-778,000 yuan/mt within the week. On the medium-heavy rare earth side, overall inquiry activity in the dysprosium oxide market remained sluggish, but supplier offers stayed firm, and actual transaction prices continued to run on the stable side. Dysprosium oxide offers this week held steady at 1.36-1.38 million yuan/mt. Terbium oxide market demand remained weak this week, with some suppliers lowering their offers, and prices edged down slightly to 6.05-6.1 million yuan/mt within the week. Gadolinium oxide market prices continued to rise along with Pr-Nd products, but wait-and-see sentiment among gadolinium-iron plants persisted, with no notable increase in purchasing enthusiasm. Offers were further raised to 235,000-245,000 yuan/mt within the week. Holmium oxide market transactions still showed no significant improvement, but supplier offers remained firm, with prices slightly adjusted to the 543,000-547,000 yuan/mt range. Erbium oxide supplier offers remained firm, with low-priced supplies hard to find, and prices slightly adjusted to 400,000-405,000 yuan/mt this week. Yttrium oxide market prices remained generally stable, holding steady at 67,000-73,000 yuan/mt this week.
Rare earth metals:
This week, cerium metal prices performed steadily overall, holding stable at 34,500-35,000 yuan/mt. Pr-Nd alloy prices trended upward overall this week, rising to 935,000-945,000 yuan/mt. The price rise this week was driven on one hand by continued increases in raw material prices, and on the other hand by downstream magnetic material enterprises beginning to inquire and purchase Pr-Nd alloy, tightening low-priced supplies in the market, which together drove a notable increase in Pr-Nd alloy prices. As end-user orders grew in volume, magnetic material enterprises showed greater acceptance of high-priced metals, and bullish sentiment was strong in the market. On the medium-heavy rare earth market side, dysprosium-iron alloy closed at 1.33-1.35 million yuan/mt. Prices ran steadily overall this week, with market inquiry activity picking up somewhat, but actual transactions showed no significant improvement, and supplier offers showed no notable fluctuations. Terbium metal prices were lowered to 7.5-7.55 million yuan/mt. Market inquiries increased this week, but actual transaction prices were on the low side, leading suppliers to lower their quoted prices. Raw material prices for gadolinium-iron alloy rose notably, driven by the rally in Pr-Nd prices. Combined with increased downstream inquiry and procurement activities, gadolinium-iron suppliers raised their quotes to 225,000-230,000 yuan/mt.
Rare Earth Permanent Magnets:
Currently, NdFeB blank N38 (Ce) closed at 239-249 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40M closed at 285-295 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40H closed at 289-299 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 45SH (Ce) closed at 339-359 yuan/kg. Price-wise, NdFeB prices edged up this week, primarily because Pr-Nd oxide and metal prices, the key raw materials for NdFeB, rose slightly this week, driving up NdFeB quoted prices. In terms of actual transactions, there remained some room for negotiation across various NdFeB grades. Trading activity recovered somewhat this week. On one hand, the slight rise in raw material prices prompted downstream enterprises to actively stockpile. On the other hand, with the Q2 peak season approaching, sustained recovery in end-use demand drove rigid restocking needs.
Rare Earth Scrap:
This week, Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 760-770 yuan/kg; dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 1,280-1,320 yuan/kg; terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 5,800-6,000 yuan/kg.
This week, scrap market prices rose notably. This trend was mainly driven by two factors: first, the rally in oxide market prices, and second, the impact of market news. Against this backdrop, bullish sentiment in the scrap market surged, with suppliers generally reluctant to sell at low prices. Recycling enterprises raised their procurement quotes for order signing accordingly to ensure normal scrap procurement. Specifically, trading activity in the oxide market improved significantly this week, with low-priced supplies tightening. Moreover, widespread market expectations that Pr-Nd oxide supply would tighten further intensified bullish sentiment in the scrap market, thereby driving scrap prices notably higher.
