Recently, China Northern Rare Earth announced the June prices. Pr-Nd oxide was priced at 384,800 yuan/mt, down 2.14% MoM from May; Pr-Nd metal was priced at 478,000 yuan/mt, down 2.05% MoM.
Prices of major rare earth products continuously declined in Q1. By April, market demand had improved, and end-users increased production, stabilizing the prices in April. There was a slight uptick in prices in May, but June saw a slight price downward adjustment.
Entering May, the rare earth market transactions remained weak. Lower-than-expected end-user orders led to a bearish market sentiment, causing rare earth prices to continue to decline. According to SMM statistics, Pr-Nd oxide prices fell by 8.6% in May. Market insights indicate that this round of listing price adjustments was anticipated by most companies. Some metal producers reported fewer inquiries from downstream magnetic material manufacturers in May. Additionally, the operating rate of magnetic material manufacturers in May decreased compared to April, with widespread price suppression in inquiries and sluggish transactions.
SMM analysis suggests that the primary reason for this round of price adjustments is the bottoming out of raw materials before April, leading to a concentrated early release of end-user demand for magnetic materials. That weakened orders and transactions. It is expected that rare earth prices will continue to fluctuate at low levels.
