Ore-side prices edged up slightly, Pr-Nd consolidated, and medium-heavy rare earth diverged [SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]

Sep 3 news:

Rare earth ore:

This week, the rare earth ore market saw generally moderate trading. Affected by tightening supply of Southeast Asian ion-adsorption ore and declining shipments, transaction prices at the ore side edged up slightly, with suppliers' quotes holding steady to higher. Among them, rare earth carbonate was quoted at 59,300-59,500 yuan/mt, edging up slightly over the week; monazite was quoted at 41,000-45,000 yuan/mt, flat over the week; medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore was quoted at 248,000-250,000 yuan/mt, rising notably over the week and ranking among the top gainers at the ore side, with low-priced cargoes hard to find.

Rare earth oxides:

This week, light rare earth oxides diverged, with lanthanum and cerium remaining stable and Pr-Nd consolidating. Lanthanum oxide was quoted at 5,200-5,800 yuan/mt, flat over the week; cerium oxide was quoted at 14,000-14,500 yuan/mt, flat over the week; Pr-Nd oxide was quoted at 728,000-732,000 yuan/mt, rising overall over the week. Early in the week, driven by futures prices stopping falling and rebounding, spot suppliers' willingness to hold prices firm strengthened and quotes were raised somewhat, tightening low-priced cargoes in the market and causing prices to rebound slightly. Subsequently, as futures weakened, wait-and-see sentiment in the market intensified, suppliers' resolve to hold prices firm loosened and quotes corrected slightly, but factory quotes remained firm and low-priced cargoes were hard to find. Downstream enterprises were cautious in inquiries and procurement, and with quarterly locked-price long-term contract deliveries due, spot order procurement volume pulled back notably, leaving actual transactions in a stalemate.

As of today, dysprosium oxide was quoted at 1.44-1.47 million yuan/mt, edging down slightly over the week. After consecutive increases earlier, it entered a high-level adjustment phase, with downstream acceptance of high-priced cargoes insufficient and inquiry activity pulling back somewhat, while suppliers' willingness to sell at concessions increased. Terbium oxide was quoted at 6.7-6.75 million yuan/mt, down over the week, moving in line with dysprosium oxide, with high-priced transactions struggling to advance. Gadolinium oxide was quoted at 193,000-197,000 yuan/mt, flat over the week, with suppliers holding quotes steady but market inquiries sluggish and actual transactions limited. Holmium oxide was quoted at 645,000-650,000 yuan/mt, rising notably over the week and ranking among the top gainers, with low-priced cargoes still hard to find and suppliers continuing to raise quotes, though metal plants showed limited willingness to follow through on procurement. Erbium oxide was quoted at 655,000-665,000 yuan/mt, rising notably over the week and maintaining a firm trend. Yttrium oxide (5N) was quoted at 58,000-60,000 yuan/mt, flat over the week; yttrium oxide (3N) was quoted at 28,000-30,000 yuan/mt, flat over the week.

Rare earth metals:

For light rare earths, cerium metal saw no notable price fluctuations in the market this week, with suppliers' quotes stable at 29,000-30,000 yuan/mt. Pr-Nd alloy prices moved sideways this week. Early in the week, driven by higher Pr-Nd oxide prices, alloy producers raised their quotes; mid-week, Pr-Nd oxide prices pulled back, wait-and-see sentiment in the market increased, suppliers' willingness to hold prices firm weakened, and alloy quotes saw a slight correction; near the weekend, Pr-Nd oxide prices rose again, and alloy prices edged up along with raw material costs. As of today, supplier quotes were adjusted to 880,000-885,000 yuan/mt, with prices basically flat for the whole week. However, as inquiries and purchases from downstream magnetic material enterprises have not improved significantly, high-priced transactions remain limited, and Pr-Nd alloy is still in a state of losses, with market trading remaining stagnant.

In the medium-heavy rare earth market, dysprosium-iron alloy closed at 1.41-1.43 million yuan/mt, with prices seeing a slight correction from highs this week, mainly because after consecutive increases earlier, downstream acceptance of high-priced cargoes was insufficient, inquiry activity pulled back, suppliers' willingness to sell at concessions increased, and quotes loosened somewhat. In the latter part of the week, quotes stabilized temporarily with no further adjustments. Terbium metal prices were stable this week, closing at 8.33-8.37 million yuan/mt. Although terbium oxide prices continued to pull back, metal quotes were not significantly adjusted, and actual transactions were scarce. Gadolinium-iron alloy prices showed no notable fluctuations this week, with supplier quotes stable at 185,000-190,000 yuan/mt, limited inquiry activity, and mediocre trading performance. Holmium-iron alloy prices rose significantly this week to 645,000-655,000 yuan/mt, mainly driven by scarce low-priced oxide cargoes and increased inquiry and purchasing activity. Supplier quotes continued to rise, but downstream inquiry and purchasing attitudes remained wait-and-see, and high-priced transactions were limited.

NdFeB blanks:

Currently, NdFeB blank N38 (Ce) closed at 212-222 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40M closed at 258-268 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40H closed at 262-272 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 45SH (Ce) closed at 312-332 yuan/kg.

In terms of prices, NdFeB prices remained stable this week, mainly because raw material prices stayed stable, keeping magnetic material prices steady. In terms of trading, NdFeB market transaction volumes were mediocre this week. Entering September, operating rates at main drive motor plants have been gradually increasing, but affected by the end-use consumption environment, stockpiling volumes were limited. Outside China, inquiry frequency for industrial motors increased, but the actual pace of cargo pick-up still fell short of expectations, and overall market transaction volumes were mediocre.

NdFeB scrap:

This week, Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 755-765 yuan/kg; dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 1,230-1,250 yuan/kg; terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 5,600-5,800 yuan/kg.

This week, scrap market prices showed an overall trend of rising first and then stabilizing, mainly influenced by the mixed performance of Pr-Nd oxide prices. At the beginning of the week, Pr-Nd scrap prices remained stable, with suppliers bullish and holding back from selling, limited circulating supply in the market, and moderate trading activity. Mid-week, driven by Pr-Nd oxide prices stopping falling and rebounding, recycling enterprises slightly raised their purchase quotes, and scrap prices edged up accordingly. Some suppliers sold appropriate volumes to cash in, but most suppliers remained in a wait-and-see stance. Although recycling enterprises followed the price increase to meet rigid production demand, they were cautious in chasing higher prices due to losses, limiting high-price transaction follow-through. Subsequently, Pr-Nd oxide prices underwent a slight correction, and recycling enterprises became more cautious in purchasing, with quotes not significantly adjusted. Suppliers also held back from selling and adopted a wait-and-see approach, keeping scrap prices stable with transactions in a stalemate. Approaching the weekend, scrap prices continued to remain stable, with wait-and-see sentiment still present in the market and no significant improvement in trading activity.