Rare earth prices remain high and stable, with sluggish market trading atmosphere [SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]

June 26 News:

Rare Earth Ores:

Today, the price range of rare earth carbonate is 35,900-36,100 yuan/mt, the price of monazite has been adjusted to 42,500-43,000 yuan/mt, and the price of medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore is approximately 190,000-191,000 yuan/mt. Recently, heavy rainfall in Southeast Asia has affected the transportation and mining of local rare earth ores, leading to fewer imports of ion-adsorption ore this month. Consequently, suppliers at the ore end still exhibit a strong reluctance to sell. However, separation plants have shown low purchase willingness recently, and the trading atmosphere in the rare earth raw material market remains sluggish.

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 remained stable at 10,000-11,800 yuan/mt this week. Recently, the overall price trend of light rare earths has been relatively stable. Although downstream procurement is not active, separation enterprises remain optimistic about the future market under the influence of news factors and are unwilling to sell at lower prices. This week, the price of Pr-Nd oxide has generally operated around 444,000-446,000 yuan/mt. For medium-heavy rare earths, due to relatively tight supply of raw materials for dysprosium and terbium products, their prices have also remained firm. Although the market transactions for dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide have been poor this week, low-priced supplies are still hard to find. Despite sluggish downstream demand for gadolinium oxide, its price trend has remained relatively stable under the influence of news factors. The price of yttrium oxide has continued to stabilize at 48,000-52,000 yuan/mt this week.

Rare Earth Metals:

This week, the price of Pr-Nd alloy has remained stable, mainly due to the tightening of low-priced supplies in the upstream oxide market. Suppliers have high expectations for future prices and are unwilling to sell at lower prices. As a result, it is difficult to procure low-priced raw materials for metals, and prices remain stable at a high level supported by oxide costs. However, magnetic material enterprises, due to weak end-use demand and no improvement in order visibility, have limited acceptance of high-priced metals and still focus on restocking based on just-in-time needs. As a result, the trading and inquiry atmosphere in the Pr-Nd market has been sluggish, and transactions between upstream and downstream have stalled. The dysprosium and terbium markets have generally remained stable. Due to ongoing export controls, the demand for dysprosium and terbium from magnetic material enterprises has not improved, and market transaction inquiries have been weak.

Rare Earth Permanent Magnets:

The prices of NdFeB blanks are as follows: NdFeB blank N38 (Ce) is priced at 143-153 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40M is priced at 189-199 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40H is priced at 193-203 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 45SH (Ce) is priced at 243-263 yuan/kg.

This week, the prices of magnetic materials have remained stable. Influenced by the fluctuating rangebound prices of upstream oxides and metals, magnetic material enterprises have maintained stable quotations. New orders are executed at past prices without adjustments for the time being. On the procurement side, enterprises restocked based on demand to maintain stable production. In terms of transactions, the activity in the magnetic material market increased slightly due to policy influences, with low-end magnetic material producers stockpiling based on demand and awaiting further policy support. Given the arrival of the traditional off-season for terminal users in late June and the ongoing export restrictions on heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium, the transaction frequency for high-end magnetic material blanks and finished products decreased. Major producers produced based on demand to reduce product backlogs in various stages.

Rare Earth Scrap:

This week, the price of Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 483-488 yuan/kg; the price of dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 1610-1621 yuan/kg; and the price of terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 5439-5495 yuan/kg.

This week, scrap market prices remained stable at highs, with the increase in oxide quotes last Friday having a positive impact on scrap prices. Supported by oxide market quotes, scrap prices continued to fluctuate at highs this week. Market inquiry activity rebounded somewhat, with magnetic material enterprises' willingness to sell increasing, and the volume of scrap in circulation increased WoW. It is expected that in the short term, influenced by oxide market quotes, scrap market prices will continue to remain stable.

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