[SMM Rare Earth Morning Meeting Summary] Rare earth market remains stable after the holiday; downstream just-in-time procurement awaits recovery in trading activity

SMM, October 9:

Rare earth ore:

• Prices:Rare earth carbonate prices stood at about 59,900 yuan/mt, medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore at about 248,000 yuan/mt, and monazite at about 43,000 yuan/mt.

• Supply and demand:Offers from the ore side remained at pre-holiday levels, but downstream separation enterprises mostly restocked on a just-in-time basis with limited willingness to chase higher prices. Spot transactions in the market were sparse, and ore prices remained in a stalemate overall.

Rare earth oxides:

• Prices:Pr-Nd oxide offers were generally stable, with the high-low price spread narrowing compared with the pre-holiday period; dysprosium oxide offers held steady; terbium oxide offers edged lower.

• Supply and demand:Yesterday, Pr-Nd oxide suppliers' offers converged, low-priced cargoes were hard to find, and metal plants entered the market with inquiries mainly for immediate needs, while actual transactions had yet to see concentrated volume. In the dysprosium market, wait-and-see sentiment was relatively strong, with both buyers and sellers operating cautiously. Terbium oxides saw a slight catch-down decline, while the metal side did not follow for the time being. Buyers showed strong sentiment to push for lower prices, and transactions centered around the low end.

Rare earth metals:

• Prices:Pr-Nd alloy offers were stable, with post-holiday trading yet to recover; dysprosium-iron alloy offers held steady; terbium metal offers were flat.

• Supply and demand:Yesterday, Pr-Nd alloy continued at pre-holiday levels. Supported by costs, metal plants held back from selling at low prices and kept offers firm. However, the market still needed time to recover after the holiday, and downstream players mostly digested inventories, with inquiries at ordinary levels and actual transactions scarce. In medium-heavy rare earths, dysprosium-iron alloy and terbium metal offers showed no fluctuations. Terbium oxides saw a slight catch-down decline, while the metal side did not follow for the time being, and trading was sluggish.

NdFeB blanks:

• Prices:NdFeB blank N35 (Ce) closed at 208-218 yuan/kg, NdFeB blank 35M closed at 253-263 yuan/kg, and NdFeB 35UH closed at 353-373 yuan/kg.

• Supply and demand:Yesterday, NdFeB blank offers showed no significant changes, mainly because stable raw material prices led to stable NdFeB offers. In terms of trading, on the first trading day after the holiday, downstream motor plants began to pick up goods one after another. However, constrained by high raw material prices, they generally adopted a just-in-time restocking pace and reduced stockpiling inventories, so a large volume of orders had yet to be released in the short term.

NdFeB scrap:

• Prices:Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap prices held stable, while dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap and terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap prices also held steady.

• Supply & demand: Yesterday, the scrap market remained generally stable, mainly influenced by relatively small fluctuations in oxide prices. Recycling enterprises made no significant adjustments to their quotes on the first day after the holiday, scrap suppliers were largely in a wait-and-see mode, and market trading was sluggish.