Demand remains weak, and industry chain prices drift lower [SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]

Published: Jul 30, 2026 15:25

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[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Weak Demand Persists, Industry Chain Prices Drift Lower] This week, affected by news factors and futures fluctuations, Pr-Nd oxide prices overall remained in the doldrums. Some traders sold at low prices, and metal plants' purchase willingness was poor during the price decline. As of today, Pr-Nd oxide prices were adjusted down to 743,000-748,000 yuan/mt.

Jul 23 news:

Rare Earth Ore:

This week, rare earth ore trading sentiment was sluggish overall. Separation plants operated at low rates, and purchase willingness was relatively low. Mid-week, affected by the subdued oxide prices, actual transaction prices for rare earth ore pulled back. As of today, the price of rare earth carbonate was in the range of 60,200-60,600 yuan/mt. Monazite prices were relatively stable this week at 42,000-46,000 yuan/mt. The price of medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore dropped to 249,000-250,000 yuan/mt.

Rare Earth Oxides:

Light rare earths side, lanthanum oxide prices did not fluctuate this week, stabilizing at 5,200-5,800 yuan/mt. The actual cerium oxide market transactions were subdued, and prices edged down slightly this week, dipping to 15,000-15,500 yuan/mt during the week. This week, influenced by news coupled with futures fluctuations, Pr-Nd oxide prices continued to be in the doldrums overall. Some traders sold at low prices, while metal plants exhibited poor purchase willingness during the price decline. As of today, Pr-Nd oxide prices consolidated downwards to the 743,000-748,000 yuan/mt range.

Medium-heavy rare earths side, the overall trading sentiment for dysprosium oxide remained poor. Finding transactions difficult at high prices, suppliers slightly lowered quotes. This week, dysprosium oxide prices pulled back slightly to the 1.39-1.41 million yuan/mt range. Metal plants’ purchase willingness stayed sluggish, and actual transaction prices for terbium oxide edged down again. However, quotes from most plants remained firm. As of today, terbium oxide market prices consolidated to 6.7-6.76 million yuan/mt. Downstream inquiries pushed for significantly lower prices, leading some suppliers to voluntarily lower gadolinium oxide quotes to secure deals; this week, gadolinium oxide prices further dipped to 210,000-213,000 yuan/mt. Holmium oxide pulled back slightly amid poor downstream order situations. Mid-week, inquiry activity recovered due to news factors, but actual transaction prices showed no notable increase. During the week, holmium oxide prices consolidated to 605,000-610,000 yuan/mt. Erbium oxide market shipments remained minimal. Although most suppliers kept their quotes firm, actual transactions were poor. As of today, erbium oxide prices pulled back slightly into the 620,000-630,000 yuan/mt range. Increased inquiry activity in the yttrium oxide market prompted suppliers to raise quotes, though low-priced sources remained hard to find. 5N yttrium oxide prices adjusted to 60,000-63,000 yuan/mt this week.

Rare Earth Metals:

Light rare earths side, cerium metal supplier quotes were continuously lowered this week to 31,000-32,000 yuan/mt due to low market inquiry prices. Pr-Nd alloy prices moved downwards after a higher opening this week, consolidating on a subdued note overall. At the start of the week, supported by oxide costs, alloy suppliers raised quotes notably. However, influenced by subsequent bearish market news and scant inquiry and procurement activities from downstream magnetic material enterprises, suppliers continuously lowered quotes. As magnetic material enterprises mainly engaged in essential restocking purchases, actual market transactions were stagnant, resulting in a tug-of-war between upstream and downstream. As of today, supplier quotes adjusted to 900,000-910,000 yuan/mt.

For medium-heavy rare earths, the dysprosium-iron alloy closed at 1.36-1.37 million yuan/mt. Prices were in the doldrums overall this week, mainly pressured by the pullback in raw material prices and limited market inquiries, resulting in generally lackluster trading. Terbium metal prices pulled back to 8.35-8.4 million yuan/mt this week, primarily influenced by the pullback in oxide prices and low inquiry prices in the market. Metal enterprises reduced quotations accordingly, and actual market transactions remained weak. Gadolinium-iron alloy prices were also in the doldrums this week. The overall inquiry performance in the Gd-Fe market continued to be sluggish. Coupled with the pullback in raw material prices, suppliers lowered their quotations to 202,000-205,000 yuan/mt, with poor trading performance in the market.

NdFeB Blanks:

Currently, the NdFeB blank N38 (Ce) was quoted at 214~224 yuan/kg; the 40M blank was quoted at 260~270 yuan/kg; the 40H blank was quoted at 264~274 yuan/kg; and the 45SH (Ce) blank was quoted at 314~334 yuan/kg.

In terms of pricing, NdFeB blank prices were revised downward this week. The core reason was that the slight decline in raw material prices drove down NdFeB quotations. As for transactions, trading volume in the NdFeB market was mediocre this week. The core reason was that approaching the end of July, some downstream motor plants entered their summer break mode, leading to a continued decrease in demand for NdFeB. Superimposed on the impact of declining upstream raw materials, mainstream motor plants' mentality to rush to buy amid continuous price rise and hold back amid price downturn continued to affect their stockpiling pace, ultimately leading to mediocre trading volume in the NdFeB market.

NdFeB Scrap:

This week, the price for Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap was 755-765 yuan/kg; dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap was 1,230-1,250 yuan/kg; and terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap was 5,600-5,800 yuan/kg.

This week, the scrap market overall showed a drifting lower trend, mainly affected by the rapid pullback in Pr-Nd oxide futures and news-driven disturbances. At the beginning of the week, scrap Pr-Nd prices shot up slightly, driven by oxide prices. However, subsequently affected by news-related factors and futures market disturbances, Pr-Nd oxide prices pulled back sharply. Recycling enterprises correspondingly lowered their scrap purchasing quotes, and scrap suppliers became more cautious in their willingness to sell. The circulation volume of tax-compliant scrap in the market tightened, and overall trading performance was poor. Approaching the weekend, as scrap Pr-Nd prices fell to 760 yuan/kg, suppliers' willingness to sell was weak, making purchasing more difficult for recycling enterprises, and market trading remained on the weak side.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM's internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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