SMM August 21 News: This week, Pr-Nd alloy prices first declined and then rebounded. At the beginning of the week, prices continued to be in the doldrums, before stopping falling and rebounding toward the weekend. As of 17:00 Friday, Pr-Nd alloy was reported at 880,000 yuan/mt, up 10,000 yuan/mt from Thursday afternoon, flat compared with Friday morning. Today, Pr-Nd alloy stopped falling and followed the upward trend driven by the sharp raise in Pr-Nd oxide prices. This was mainly due to a large enterprise's procurement of Pr-Nd oxide yesterday, which quickly tightened low-priced supply on the market. Suppliers successively raised their quotes, and alloy enterprises followed suit with upward adjustments under the support of oxide costs, making low-priced materials hard to find. However, inquiry activity in the afternoon declined from yesterday, and downstream magnetic material enterprises were cautious in procurement, with limited actual transactions following up.
Reviewing the weekly trend, Pr-Nd alloy prices this week showed a pattern of "first declining then rebounding": prices moved steadily at the start of the week, then weakened slightly from Tuesday as Pr-Nd oxide prices pulled back, hitting the week's low of 870,000 yuan/mt on Thursday. Toward the weekend, driven by the large enterprise's procurement of Pr-Nd oxide, prices rebounded strongly on Friday, rising 10,000 yuan/mt in a single day. As of 17:00 Friday, Pr-Nd alloy closed at 880,000 yuan/mt, up 5,000 yuan/mt from last Friday (875,000 yuan/mt), a WoW increase of 0.57%, halting the previous several weeks of decline and turning losses into gains.
From the cost side, the cash cost of Pr-Nd alloy this week fell about 1,655 yuan/mt WoW, a decrease of about 0.19%, as cost pressure continued to ease; calculated based on Friday's closing price, the net profit per mt was about 6,700 yuan/mt, significantly expanded from last week, and profitability continued to improve. During the week, downstream magnetic material enterprises remained cautious in inquiries and procurement, with sluggish market trading activity. In mid-week, raw material prices were in the doldrums; some traders sold at low prices, and although alloy enterprises lowered their quotes accordingly, they were determined to hold prices firm, which narrowed the actual declines. Toward the weekend, raw material prices stopped falling and rebounded; alloy enterprises raised quotes accordingly, low-priced materials were hard to find, and trading activity recovered somewhat.
In the short term, on the demand side, the "high-temperature holidays" of end-user motor enterprises are gradually ending, and with the approach of the traditional September-October peak season, top magnetic material enterprises have favorable expectations for order production schedules. The market holds strong expectations for downstream restocking and stockpiling. However, it remains to be seen whether the peak season demand expectations will be realized, as well as the release pace of new capacity for Pr-Nd oxide on the cost side. Pr-Nd alloy prices are expected to drift higher in a range sideways.
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