As Labour Day holiday Approaches, Rare Earth Inquiry and Procurement Activities Heat Up [[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]]

Published: Apr 30, 2025 15:11
[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Rare Earth Inquiry and Purchase Activity Picks Up as Labour Day Holiday Approaches] Currently, the price of lanthanum oxide remains stable at 4,200-4,800 yuan/mt, while the price of cerium oxide continues to hold steady at 11,600-12,500 yuan/mt this week. During the week, the price of cerium oxide still dropped back slightly, with poor purchase enthusiasm in the downstream market. The price of Pr-Nd oxide also continued to show a weak trend this week, but with its price having fallen to a relatively low level that separation plants can bear, downstream purchase willingness has increased.

April 30 News:

Rare Earth Ores:

Today, the price range of rare earth carbonate is 33,200-33,400 yuan/mt, monazite prices have adjusted to 39,200-39,600 yuan/mt, and the price of medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore is approximately 179,000-180,000 yuan/mt. Recently, the overall price fluctuations of rare earth ores have been relatively small. As indicators have not yet been released, the market sentiment remains cautious, and separation plants are not actively procuring, leading to a slight downward trend in rare earth ore prices.

Rare Earth Oxides:

Currently, the price of lanthanum oxide is temporarily stable at 4,200-4,800 yuan/mt, and the price of cerium oxide has continued to stabilize at 11,600-12,500 yuan/mt this week. Within the week, the price of cerium oxide still dropped back slightly, with poor procurement enthusiasm in the downstream market; the price of Pr-Nd oxide also continued to show a weak trend this week. However, as its price has fallen to a relatively low level that separation plants can bear, the downstream purchase willingness has increased. Meanwhile, coinciding with the period of restocking before the Labour Day holiday, the procurement volume in the rare earth oxide market has increased, and the rate of decline in the prices of dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide this week has also significantly slowed down. The price of gadolinium oxide has also begun to stabilize this week. The price of yttrium oxide was further reduced to 50,000-52,000 yuan/mt this week, with no significant improvement in overall market trading volume.

Rare Earth Metals:

Within the week, the overall quotation from metal plants remains weak. It is understood that although several magnetic material enterprises have successively obtained export licenses, overall, the downstream demand situation has not shown significant improvement. Some metal plants have slightly reduced their production and operation of Pr-Nd alloy. Due to export restrictions, the market procurement demand for dysprosium-iron alloy and terbium metal has also become sluggish, and most industry participants remain pessimistic about the future prices of rare earths.

Rare Earth Permanent Magnets:

The prices of NdFeB blanks are as follows: NdFeB blank N38 (Ce) is quoted at 135-145 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40M is quoted at 181-191 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40H is quoted at 185-195 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 45SH (Ce) is quoted at 235-255 yuan/kg.

This week, due to the lack of significant growth in end-use demand and sluggish market transactions, the price trend of magnetic materials has been weak. Restocking activities before the Labour Day holiday have slightly increased inquiries in the spot market, with market quotations and procurement showing some signs of recovery. However, most market participants still maintain a wait-and-see attitude. Magnetic material enterprises have limited acceptance of high-priced raw materials, and their procurement sentiment is relatively cautious. As the magnetic material industry is about to enter the off-season for taking orders, most industry participants lack confidence in the future market.

Rare Earth Scrap:

This week, the price of Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap is quoted at 429-440 yuan/kg; the price of dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap is quoted at 1,584-1,606 yuan/kg; the price of terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap is quoted at 5,115-5,335 yuan/kg.

This week, due to poor orders from magnetic material enterprises, the circulation volume of Pr-Nd scrap in the market has decreased. Meanwhile, as the holiday approaches, a peak in restocking has emerged in the market, leading to an increase in the procurement volume of Pr-Nd oxide. Under the combined influence of these factors, the market price of Pr-Nd scrap has slightly rebounded.

》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.

For any inquiries or to learn more information, please contact: lemonzhao@smm.cn
For more information on how to access our research reports, please contact:service.en@smm.cn
Related News
Trading Perspective: The U.S. $12 Billion Project Vault – A National-Level Risk Hedging for the EV Supply Chain
15 hours ago
Trading Perspective: The U.S. $12 Billion Project Vault – A National-Level Risk Hedging for the EV Supply Chain
Read More
Trading Perspective: The U.S. $12 Billion Project Vault – A National-Level Risk Hedging for the EV Supply Chain
Trading Perspective: The U.S. $12 Billion Project Vault – A National-Level Risk Hedging for the EV Supply Chain
For NEVs, the core impact of Project Vault does not lie in how much it drives up mineral prices in the short term, but in the following: improved certainty of subsidy compliance, reduced supply disruption risks at key nodes, and the formation of a more stable structural price spread between the compliant and non-compliant supply chains.
15 hours ago
Cyclic Materials to Build Rare Earth Recycling Plant in South Carolina
Feb 2, 2026 09:47
Cyclic Materials to Build Rare Earth Recycling Plant in South Carolina
Read More
Cyclic Materials to Build Rare Earth Recycling Plant in South Carolina
Cyclic Materials to Build Rare Earth Recycling Plant in South Carolina
[SMM Flash: Cyclic Materials to Build Rare Earth Recycling Plant in South Carolina] Canadian rare earth and metal recycling enterprise Cyclic Materials announced plans to invest over $82 million to construct a rare earth recycling plant in South Carolina. This facility is the company's second announced synergistic plant in the US, with an initial capacity to process 2,000 mt of magnetic material, and the company plans to increase its annual processing capacity to 6,000 mt. The company also stated that the new plant is initially expected to produce 600 mt of mixed rare earth oxides annually, with future capacity potentially expandable to 1,800 mt to meet growing market demand.
Feb 2, 2026 09:47
Chile Unveils National Critical Minerals Strategy Amid Global Demand Surge
Jan 30, 2026 18:24
Chile Unveils National Critical Minerals Strategy Amid Global Demand Surge
Read More
Chile Unveils National Critical Minerals Strategy Amid Global Demand Surge
Chile Unveils National Critical Minerals Strategy Amid Global Demand Surge
Chile has released its National Critical Minerals Strategy, clearly positioning itself as a stable supplier of minerals. Currently, driven by artificial intelligence, the development of new technologies, and the energy transition, global demand for these critical minerals continues to grow. The announcement of this strategy holds particular significance in the weeks before President Boric leaves office, highlighting Chile’s intention to transition from over-reliance on the copper industry toward adapting to a decarbonized economy and achieving resource diversification. Chile has identified 14 critical minerals, specifically covering copper, lithium, molybdenum, rhenium, cobalt, rare earths, antimony, selenium, tellurium, gold, silver, iron ore, boron, and iodine. Based on Chile’s current position in the global market, these 14 minerals are categorized into three groups: The first category includes copper, lithium, molybdenum, and rhenium. Their respective shares in global supply are 23%, 20.4%, 14.6%, and 46.8%, and other major economies have also designated these minerals as critical. The second category consists of minerals that are currently not produced or only produced in small quantities, including cobalt, rare earths, antimony, selenium, and tellurium. The third category comprises minerals already produced domestically in Chile with the potential to expand their role in the global value chain, such as gold, silver, iron ore, boron, and iodine.
Jan 30, 2026 18:24
As Labour Day holiday Approaches, Rare Earth Inquiry and Procurement Activities Heat Up [[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]] - Shanghai Metals Market (SMM)