The rare earth market is operating steadily with strong wait-and-see sentiment [SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]

July 3 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 42,300-43,000 yuan/mt, and the price of medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore is approximately 190,000-191,000 yuan/mt. Due to the significant bullish sentiment among most mine owners regarding the future market, their willingness to sell is currently low. While shipments of ion-adsorption ore in the rare earth market are low, downstream demand has also not shown any improvement. As a result, rare earth ore prices have not seen significant fluctuations this week.

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 temporarily stable at 10,000-11,800 yuan/mt this week. The lanthanum-cerium market has been relatively stable recently, with no significant fluctuations. The price of Pr-Nd oxide has continued to fluctuate within the range of 444,000-446,000 yuan/mt this week, creating a stark contrast between the upstream suppliers' bullish stance and refusal to budge on prices, and the sluggish downstream demand. Under the stalemate of back-and-forth negotiations between upstream and downstream, its price is unlikely to see significant fluctuations. In terms of medium-heavy rare earths, dysprosium-terbium products have also shown almost no significant fluctuations this week. However, as the weekend approached, driven by the procurement of major rare earth enterprises, the prices of dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide both showed a slight upward trend. Nevertheless, the sluggish downstream demand still persists. It is expected that the prices of medium-heavy rare earth oxides will mainly fluctuate slightly and hold up well in the subsequent period, with the price of yttrium oxide continuing 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. The stable price of Pr-Nd oxide provides cost support for Pr-Nd alloy. However, due to the lack of significant improvement in terminal market demand, magnetic material enterprises have generally experienced average order-taking situations, with weak procurement demand for metals, and have generally adopted a purchasing-as-needed strategy. Under the circumstances of weak supply and demand, the price of Pr-Nd alloy has fluctuated little, maintaining overall stable operation. In terms of medium-heavy rare earths, dysprosium-terbium products have generally shown weak performance. Affected by the sluggish downstream demand, market transactions have been sluggish, with a strong wait-and-see sentiment. As the weekend approached, driven by the procurement of major enterprises, the oxide market showed a slight upward trend. However, due to the time required for market transmission, the metal market prices did not follow suit significantly. It is expected that the prices of medium-heavy rare earth metals will fluctuate slightly and upward under the cost support of oxides.

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 NdFeB magnetic material market has generally operated steadily, with the supply-demand pattern showing a weak balance. Market trading activity dropped back slightly WoW, with obvious structural differentiation characteristics: On the one hand, influenced by the off-season of seasonal demand in traditional end-use applications, new orders for high-performance magnetic materials declined, and the shipping pace of relevant manufacturers slowed down slightly. On the other hand, for conventional performance grades, constrained by the industrial policy environment, the release pace of new capacity for some enterprises was suppressed, and there was currently no large-scale increase in orders.

Entering July, mainstream magnetic material enterprises generally maintained normalized production and operation. In terms of raw material procurement, the prices of core raw materials Pr-Nd alloy and its oxides remained stable this week. Magnetic material enterprises restocked according to their production plans, adopting an overall cautious procurement strategy, and the overall operating rate was maintained at the benchmark level. The industry generally paid attention to the potential marginal changes in supply and demand brought about by subsequent policy orientations, waiting for new transactions brought about by clear market changes.

Rare earth scrap:

This week, the price of Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap was reported at 483-488 yuan/kg; the price of dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap was reported at 1,610-1,621 yuan/kg; the price of terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap was reported at 5,439-5,495 yuan/kg.

This week, the scrap market prices continued to remain high and stable, mainly supported by the market prices of oxides. With the gradual recovery of end-use demand, some industry participants had high expectations for the future prices of rare earths. Magnetic material enterprises held onto their inventory and were reluctant to sell, resulting in a strong wait-and-see sentiment in the market. The volume of scrap circulation decreased WoW. However, due to the high scrap prices, the procurement volume of scrap by recycling enterprises increased. It is expected that in the short term, the scrap market prices will continue to remain stable.

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