After the holiday, the back-and-forth negotiations between upstream and downstream in the market remained intense. Can rare earth prices stay firm in the future? [SMM Analysis]

This week, the rise in rare earth ore transaction prices and the news of China Northern Rare Earth raising the listing prices for Pr-Nd products further boosted the confidence of the upstream market, leading to consistently firm offers from upstream holders. Some industry players indicated that with the arrival of the fourth quarter, the traditional "October peak season" effect might manifest, and they expect upstream raw material prices will not see a significant decline.

Compared to the booming upstream market, the downstream magnetic material market appears relatively quiet. Some magnetic material companies revealed that due to high upstream raw material prices and difficulties in downstream product sales, high prices are hard to close deals. The inquiry volume from downstream customers has not shown a significant increase, leading to weak purchase willingness among magnetic material companies, who still adhere to a strategy of minimal replenishment based on demand, with a strong market sentiment of wait-and-see.

Despite some favorable policies and announcements, they have not had a significant impact on the magnetic material market in the short term, and the negotiations between the upstream and downstream rare earth markets remain intense.

Based on the above situation, SMM expects that rare earth prices will show slight fluctuations in the short term.