Prices of Medium and Heavy Rare Earth Remain Stable, while PrNd Products Prices Continue to Rise

SHANGHAI, Jan 3 (SMM) - As of January 3, the overall rare earth market was relatively stable. The tight supply continued to push up PrNd products prices slightly. According to SMM, the mainstream transaction prices of PrNd oxide gained slightly to 710,000-715,000 yuan/mt. The prices of terbium oxide, dysprosium oxide and gadolinium oxide all remained flat at 13,900-14,000 yuan/kg, 2,490-2,500 yuan/kg and 435,000-440,000 yuan/mt respectively. The prices of holmium oxide stabilised at 920,000-930,000 yuan/mt. The mainstream transaction prices of PrNd alloy were raised slightly to 865,000-870,000 yuan/mt, following the growth in PrNd oxide prices. According to SMM research, multiple separation enterprises and scrap recyclers in the rare earth market have cut or suspend their production, which led to persisting tight supply of rare earth and rising quotes from goods holders. At the same time, the demand for rare earth also shrank at the end of the year. As such, SMM expects that rare earth prices will remain firm with upward potential before the Chinese New Year.