Affected by weak supply and demand, the rare earth market operated steadily [SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]

May 22 News:

Rare Earth Ores:

Today, the price range of rare earth carbonate is 34,600-34,700 yuan/mt, the price of monazite has been adjusted to 41,000-41,400 yuan/mt, and the price of medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore is approximately 185,000-186,000 yuan/mt. Although there has been a significant increase in rare earth ore imports recently, suppliers still exhibit a strong reluctance to sell. Despite a pullback in the rare earth market this week, miners believe there is still a chance for rare earth prices to rebound in the future. It is understood that due to the undistributed rare earth quotas, separation plants remain cautious, with relatively small procurement volumes.

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 dropped back slightly this week to 10,000-11,800 yuan/mt. The market enthusiasm for lanthanum-cerium continues to decline, with cerium oxide prices falling further. The price fluctuation range of Pr-Nd oxide is relatively small this week, and with suppliers reluctant to sell their raw materials, their quoted prices remain firm. Given the recent large imports of ion-adsorption ore, medium-heavy rare earth prices have declined significantly within the week, and the procurement volume in the dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide markets has also decreased significantly. The price of yttrium oxide has also been lowered to 48,000-52,000 yuan/mt this week, with most industry participants maintaining a bearish outlook on the rare earth market before the holiday.

Rare Earth Metals:

This week, the overall price trend of Pr-Nd alloy has been in the doldrums. It is understood that the traditional off-season has prevented the recovery of end-use demand, leading to an overall decline in market demand for Pr-Nd alloy products. With the export situation of downstream magnetic material enterprises failing to improve, the usage of dysprosium-iron alloy and terbium metal has also decreased significantly. Most industry participants have low expectations for the future prices of metals, anticipating that metal prices will continue to remain weak in the short term.

Rare Earth Permanent Magnets:

This week's NdFeB blank prices are as follows: NdFeB blank N38 (Ce) is priced at 139-149 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40M is priced at 185-195 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40H is priced at 189-199 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 45SH (ce) is priced at 239-259 yuan/kg.

This week, influenced by the lack of improvement in export trade and the traditional off-season, downstream magnetic material enterprises have not seen an improvement in end-use demand. Although metal market prices have pulled back slightly, the willingness of magnetic material enterprises to restock remains low, with a strong wait-and-see sentiment prevailing in the market. They mainly adopt a purchasing-as-needed strategy. Affected by the sluggish rare earth market, some industry participants have weak confidence in the future market, expecting magnetic material prices to remain slightly weak.

Rare Earth Scrap:

This week, Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap is priced at 451-462 yuan/kg; dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap is priced at 1,606-1,628 yuan/kg; and terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap is priced at 5,335-5,445 yuan/kg.

This week, affected by weak end-use demand, the market prices of oxides dropped slightly. Traders cashed in and sold off, leading to an increase in the circulation of scrap in the market and a subsequent decline in scrap prices. However, as the market prices of oxides stabilized, the availability of low-priced goods gradually decreased, and scrap traders began to hold back on sales. Currently, scrap prices have remained stable. Nevertheless, influenced by end-use demand, the overall scrap market is experiencing weak supply and demand. It is expected that in the short term, scrap market prices may decline slightly.

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