Under Policy Guidance, Downstream Procurement Demand for Rare Earths Declines [SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]

Published: Apr 17, 2025 14:56

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【SMM Weekly Review of Rare Earths: Policy Guidance Leads to Reduced Procurement Demand in Downstream Sectors】Currently, the price of lanthanum oxide remains stable at 4,200-4,600 yuan/mt, while the price of cerium oxide experienced a slight correction this week, dropping back slightly to 11,600-13,000 yuan/mt. Earlier this week, the price of cerium oxide remained relatively high, but recent poor downstream procurement led to a slight pullback. Due to weak downstream demand, the price of Pr-Nd oxide continued to decline this week. Meanwhile, dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide faced new purchase news, and their prices remained high and difficult to decrease this week. It is expected that the prices of dysprosium and terbium will continue to consolidate at high levels in the near term.

April 17: Rare earth ore: Today, the price range of rare earth carbonate was 34,100-34,300 yuan/mt, monazite adjusted to 42,000-42,200 yuan/mt, and medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore was around 186,000-188,000 yuan/mt. The ore market remained relatively calm recently, with some miners actively selling, and ore prices slightly pulled back this week, but the overall change was relatively small. Rare earth oxides: Currently, lanthanum oxide prices remained stable at 4,200-4,600 yuan/mt, cerium oxide prices slightly corrected to 11,600-13,000 yuan/mt this week. Cerium oxide prices were relatively high earlier this week, but recently pulled back slightly due to poor downstream purchases. Due to weak downstream demand, Pr-Nd oxide prices continued to decline this week. Meanwhile, dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide faced new purchase news, and their prices remained high this week, with prices expected to continue consolidating at high levels in the near future. Holmium oxide prices jumped initially and then pulled back this week, as the technology to completely replace dysprosium with holmium in magnetic materials is difficult to achieve, and the market enthusiasm for holmium products has diminished. Gadolinium oxide prices remained relatively stable, with little change during the week. Yttrium oxide prices remained stable at 53,000-55,000 yuan/mt this week. Rare earth metals: Affected by export control policies, orders for rare earth permanent magnets downstream decreased, leading to a decline in market demand for metals. Pr-Nd alloy prices fell significantly, and although metal enterprises intended to stand firm on quotes, some suppliers with unstable confidence continuously released low-priced sources. Dysprosium iron and terbium metal quotes remained firm due to high raw material prices, but some industry insiders reported poor transactions, and high prices were still difficult to close. Rare earth permanent magnets: NdFeB blank N38 (Ce) prices were reported at 139-149 yuan/kg, NdFeB blank 40M at 185-195 yuan/kg, NdFeB blank 40H at 189-199 yuan/kg, and NdFeB blank 45SH (ce) at 239-259 yuan/kg. This week, the rare earth permanent magnet market was significantly affected by export control policies. Although medium-heavy rare earth procurement activities remained active, the overall market trading enthusiasm decreased. Driven by export controls, medium-heavy rare earth raw material prices remained firm, showing a fluctuating upward trend. Meanwhile, Pr-Nd alloy prices fell under the dual influence of medium-heavy rare earth procurement and weak downstream demand. The industry showed a clear differentiation: large magnetic material enterprises, with resource advantages and market position, had stable orders and smooth production and delivery, while some small and medium-sized enterprises faced insufficient orders and could only digest inventories by accepting low-priced orders to reduce storage costs. Looking ahead, market trends depend on policy adjustments and changes in end-use demand, and these dynamics need to be continuously monitored. Rare earth scrap: This week, Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap prices were reported at 436-447 yuan/kg, dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap at 1,625-1,645 yuan/kg, and terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap at 5,182-5,282 yuan/kg. This week, the oxide market continued to decline under the dual pressure of export controls and weak downstream demand. Meanwhile, scrap prices also fell. Due to the market psychology of rushing to buy amid continuous price rise and holding back amid price downturn, downstream enterprises' purchasing enthusiasm was not high. However, some traders actively sold during this period, leading to an increase in scrap trading volume, and overall prices showed a downward trend. Apply for a free trial of the SMM metal industry chain database.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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