The recent bull run of minor metals such as antimony, tungsten, molybdenum and indium has prolonged the "spring" of minor metals. Previously, germanium prices had been rising continuously due to the improvement in demand and the month-on-month increase in exports; the average price of tellurium had been rising continuously due to the overall tight supply of domestic tellurium products after the Chinese New Year holiday, which hit a new high for the year in early April and then stabilized; the price increase of China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co. in May also gave the market confidence in the price of praseodymium and neodymium, causing the price of praseodymium and neodymium to rebound. As of the close of the 7th, the minor metal sector rose by 1.66%. In terms of individual stocks: Yunnan Germanium Industry, which once hit the daily limit during the session, finally rose by 6.3%. Boqian New Materials, China Tungsten High-Tech, Galaxy Magnet, China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co., Huaxi Nonferrous Metal and Earth Bear were among the top gainers.
Tungsten
In April, tungsten market prices showed "upward trends driven by tightening supply". During this period, tungsten mining was restricted due to safety inspections, and APT production was reduced due to environmental protection inspections, resulting in a continuous reduction in the supply of tungsten available in the market; in addition, traders also held back, resulting in the tungsten price.
In May, the overall output of tungsten concentrate is expected to rebound, and the shortage of resources in the market may be alleviated; due to ore sellers raising prices and expected growth in demand, SMM expects that the tungsten price will remain at a high level in May. 》 Click for details
Antimony
Geopolitical conflicts and UK and US sanctions on Russian metals have made it difficult for antimony ores from foreign mines such as Russia to enter China. In addition, several mines in China had accidents before, and the environmental protection inspection team entered Hunan in May, which led to a short-term shortage of domestic antimony raw materials and a stronger reluctance to sell in the market. This has also stimulated speculative demand, causing antimony prices to rise recently. In less than a month, it has risen by nearly 11%, and its average price has even broken through the 100,000 yuan/ton mark.
The market is currently bullish due to the tight short-term supply relationship. On the supply side: we need to pay attention to the import situation of antimony ore at the supply port and the production situation of antimony industry chain such as antimony ingots and sodium antimonate pyroxanite. In terms of demand, SMM will continue to follow the changes in demand for antimony in the photovoltaic industry chain in the future. In addition, we also need to pay attention to the impact of antimony prices hitting a multi-year high on downstream consumption . Click for details
Selenium
The price of domestic selenium products increased in early April, but then remained stable. At present, the SMM price of crude selenium is 158-162 yuan/kg, the price of selenium dioxide is 123-127 yuan/kg, and the price of 99.9% selenium powder is 195-205 yuan/kg. Some companies want to purchase low-priced crude selenium but it is basically difficult to find. The price remains stable at around 160 yuan/kg. SMM believes that although the recovery of selenium products this year is later than market expectations, the market in May may still be promising. Click for details
Rare earth
According to SMM quotations, on May 7, the average price of PrNd oxide increased by 1,500 yuan/ton, an increase of 0.37%.
On May 6, China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co. released the listed prices of rare earth products in May 2024, and the prices of many rare earth products increased month-on-month. Lanthanum oxide was quoted at 4,100 yuan/ton, unchanged from April 2024; cerium oxide was quoted at 7,600 yuan/ton, unchanged from April 2024. PrNd oxide was quoted at 393200 yuan/ton, up 7.52% from April; neodymium oxide was quoted at 401500 yuan/ton, up 7.35%; PrNd alloy was quoted at 488000 yuan/ton, up 7.25%; neodymium metal was reported at 498000 yuan/ton, up 7.1%.
According to SMM, with the rebound in rare earth prices in April, the market had already anticipated the increase in China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co.’s prices. China Northern Rare Earth’s price increases strengthened the confidence of some market participants, which in turn caused the price of praseodymium and neodymium to rebound on the morning of May 7.
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