SMM August 25 News: Rare earth market showed mixed performance today. Specifically, in the oxide market, Pr-Nd oxide prices were lowered by 500 yuan/mt, dysprosium oxide prices were raised by 5,000 yuan/mt, terbium oxide prices were raised by 55,000 yuan/mt, gadolinium oxide prices were flat, holmium oxide prices were raised by 5,000 yuan/mt, and erbium oxide prices were flat.
In the metal market, Pr-Nd alloy prices were lowered by 1,000 yuan/mt, dysprosium-iron alloy prices were raised by 35,000 yuan/mt, terbium metal prices were raised by 50,000 yuan/mt, gadolinium-iron alloy prices were flat, holmium-iron prices were raised by 5,000 yuan/mt, and lanthanum-cerium metal (alloy grade) prices were flat.
Currently, the rare earth market showed divergence: Pr-Nd series products were slightly under pressure, while medium-heavy rare earth continued to hold up well. Focusing on the Pr-Nd market, due to sluggish market inquiries recently, metal transaction prices remained under pressure. Metal enterprises have slightly reduced their offers, and Pr-Nd alloy once again fell into a state of price inversion, with limited actual transaction follow-through. Affected by this, metal enterprises' purchase willingness for Pr-Nd oxide weakened, and the oxide market trading atmosphere remained sluggish, with high prices facing significant resistance. Some suppliers slightly lowered their quotes. However, supported by futures prices of Pr-Nd oxide, the actual decline in spot cargo was limited, and overall quotes remained relatively firm, with market transactions remaining stagnant.
In the medium-heavy rare earth market, dysprosium, terbium, and holmium products continued to see price increases. Currently, low-priced oxide cargoes were hard to find, coupled with an increase in inquiries and procurement activities. Oxide suppliers continued to raise their quotes, with dysprosium and terbium products showing relatively significant increases. Metal product prices followed suit, with dysprosium-iron alloy, terbium metal, and holmium-iron quotes all rising. However, due to the significant fluctuations in oxide prices recently, some metal enterprises chose to suspend quotations and adopt a wait-and-see approach, resulting in limited actual transaction follow-through. For gadolinium products, as Pr-Nd series product prices did not show significant changes and market inquiries were low, prices remained relatively stable.
Overall, the rare earth market showed mixed performance. Pr-Nd series products were slightly under pressure due to sluggish inquiries, while medium-heavy rare earth continued to hold up well supported by tightening low-priced supply and increased inquiries. Actual transactions in the rare earth market remained stagnant overall. It is expected that in the short term, Pr-Nd product prices will likely move sideways; for medium-heavy rare earth, supported by the continued difficulty in finding low-priced cargoes, dysprosium, terbium, holmium, and other product prices are expected to continue to consolidate on a strong note.
