SMM Weekly Review: PrNd Products Prices Dropped in the Second Half of the Week

SHANGHAI, Jun 17 (SMM) - The prices of praseodymium-neodymium (PrNd) products dropped slightly this week. Market players mostly stood on the sidelines at the beginning of the week, and the prices of PrNd oxide and alloy moved between 960,000-965,000 yuan/mt and 1.16-1.17 million yuan/mt respectively with few transactions. The prices of PrNd oxide and alloy fell slightly in the second half of the week to 945,000-950,000 yuan/mt and 1.15-1.16 million yuan/mt respectively, and some magnetic material manufacturers restocked alloy at 1.16 million yuan/mt with credit. The downstream market failed to post palpable recovery, and magnetic material manufacturers mostly purchased on rigid demand in light of high cost recently. 

The mainstream prices of dysprosium oxide were stable at 2.52-2.56 million yuan/mt with occasional drops. The separation enterprises were reluctant to sell, while traders would surrender some of the profits due to moderate supplies in the market. However, the magnetic material enterprises were not interested in purchasing, and the trading market was relativley quiet. The prices of dysprosium iron also stabilised at 2.52-2.56 million yuan/mt. The dysprosium metal market was weak this week, and the mainstream prices were largely unchanged at 3.35-3.4 million yuan/mt with few inquires and negotiations. 

The terbium oxide and metal prices dropped as well. The mainstream transaction prices of terbium oxide stood between 14.4-14.5 million yuan/mt, and that of metal fell from 18.4-18.5 million yuan/mt at the beginning of the week to 18.2-18.3 million yuan/mt. The terbium oxide and metal market sentiment was sluggish as a whole with little demand from downstream magnetic material manufacturers. The yttrium oxide market was stable this week, and the mainstream transaction prices were 82,000-84,000 yuan/mt.

Since gadolinium iron could substitute PrNd alloy in magnetic materials to some extent, the prices of gadolinium oxide usually shadow the moves of PrNd oxide, and dropped slight this week. The mainstream transaction prices of gadolinium oxide fell to 550,000-555,000 yuan/mt, and stabilised approaching the weekend. The prices high-purity gadolinium oxide were mostly between 580,000-600,000 yuan/mt last week. The transaction prices of gadolinium iron this week were 510,000-520,000 yuan/mt, and the downstream demand was weak evident by poor transactions. The mainstream quotation of erbium oxide last week was stable at 365,000-370,000 yuan/mt.