Growth in rare earth prices to slow after strong week

SHANGHAI, May 24 (SMM) – Growth in prices of rare earth products is expected to moderate next week after prices increased considerably in the week ended Friday May 24, SMM expects. 

Price growth in major rare earth products already slowed in the second half of the week, as higher prices sidelined downstream buyers. A number of producers continued to hold from selling in hope of further upside room in prices. 

Besides medium-to-heavy rare earth, whose prices jumped on supply woes, light rare earth such as praseodymium- and neodymium- related products also climbed this week, as President Xi Jinping’s visit to a downstream permanent magnet company boosted market confidence on Monday May 20.  

As of Friday May 24, prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide stood at 330,000-340,000 yuan/mt, up from an average 264,000 yuan/mt a week ago, SMM assessed. 

Import ban on Myanmar ore grew market concerns about tighter supplies and bolsters prices of medium-to-heavy rare earth. SMM assessed prices of dysprosium oxide at 1.95-2 million yuan/mt as of Friday May 24, compared with 1.64 million yuan/mt on Friday May 17.