Rare earth prices continue to rise, with strong market bullish sentiment [SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]

July 24 News:

Rare Earth Ores:

Today, the price range of rare earth carbonate is 42,100-43,300 yuan/mt, monazite prices have adjusted to 49,000-51,000 yuan/mt, and the price of medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore is approximately 208,000-210,000 yuan/mt. Recently, rare earth ore prices have generally risen significantly, primarily due to a tightening in ore supply and continued rapid increases in quotes from ore suppliers.

Rare Earth Oxides:

Currently, the price of lanthanum oxide continues to stabilize at 4,200-4,800 yuan/mt, and the price of cerium oxide has adjusted slightly this week to 10,500-11,000 yuan/mt. Overall, lanthanum-cerium oxide prices remain relatively stable this week, with cerium oxide experiencing a slight decrease, but the overall change is relatively small. This week, the price of Pr-Nd oxide has risen significantly. It is understood that due to Kachin's relevant announcements on rare earth ore mining and the news that rare earth metal ore imports were zero in June, most industry participants expect tighter market supply in the future. At the same time, there has been a noticeable increase in demand from downstream metal sectors, driving up the prices of Pr-Nd products across the board. In the medium-heavy rare earth sector, the market has been relatively quiet this week, with low activity in inquiries and purchases. Suppliers' quotes have dropped back slightly in recent times. The price of yttrium oxide has also declined slightly, adjusting to 48,000-50,000 yuan/mt this week.

Rare Earth Metals:

This week, the price of Pr-Nd alloy has risen sharply due to the support from downstream purchasing enthusiasm and oxide costs. Top-tier rare earth enterprises have continued to competitively sell Pr-Nd alloy, with transaction times gradually shortening and bidding enthusiasm heating up. Meanwhile, large magnetic material manufacturers have frequently tendered, further boosting market purchasing demand. This provides demand support for price increases, with strong market bullish sentiment and weak willingness among suppliers to sell at low prices, leading to a rapid tightening of low-priced supplies in the market. In the medium-heavy rare earth sector, affected by weak terminal demand and the market's focus on the light rare earth market, inquiries have been sluggish, and actual transactions have been relatively weak. As the oxide market continues to decline, the prices of metals such as dysprosium and terbium have decreased, operating in the doldrums overall.

Rare Earth Permanent Magnets:

The prices of NdFeB blanks are as follows: NdFeB blank N38 (Ce) is priced at 162-172 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40M is priced at 207-219 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40H is priced at 212-222 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 45SH (Ce) is priced at 262-282 yuan/kg.

This week, the rare earth magnetic material market has shown a rapid upward trend, with a significant increase in trading activity. Price Level: The rapid increase in upstream rare earth oxide and metal prices has been transmitted to the magnetic material sector, leading to a sudden increase in cost pressure for enterprises. To pass on cost pressure, mainstream magnetic material enterprises have generally raised their product quotes.

Transaction level: Macroscopically, the overseas export control situation continues, coupled with the marginal improvement in Sino-US relations, driving steady growth in magnetic material export orders and jointly boosting optimistic market expectations this week. Microscopically, in the face of continuously rising raw material costs, magnetic material enterprises of different tiers have adopted differentiated strategies: Top-tier enterprises, leveraging their scale advantages and stable customer structures, have signed new orders according to their established production rhythms. Mid-tier enterprises have actively followed market price trends and implemented strategic price adjustments to lock in gross profit margins. Bottom-tier enterprises have become more cautious in taking orders, with some choosing to delay order acceptance to observe market trends. End-use demand has remained generally positive, with steady increases in demand from sectors such as air conditioners, consumer electronics, industrial robots, and wind power, bringing new orders to magnetic material enterprises. Although there are signs of order contraction in the NEV sector at this stage, its vast basic market volume remains, continuing to provide important support for magnetic material demand. Considering the current cost support and demand situation, it is expected that magnetic material prices may continue to rise next week, with overall downstream demand remaining robust.

Rare earth scrap:

This week, the price of Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 561-572 yuan/kg; the price of dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 1,643-1,654 yuan/kg; and the price of terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 5,439-5,550 yuan/kg.

This week, the scrap market prices have continued to rise, reaching new highs. This is mainly due to the continuous rise in the oxide market, with the Pr-Nd market experiencing high enthusiasm and strong market bullish sentiment, leading to rapid price increases. Affected by this, scrap suppliers have continued to spread their reluctance to sell, with low-priced scrap rapidly tightening in the market. Recycling enterprises have faced difficulties in purchasing at low prices and have had to raise their quotes. However, due to the rapid rise in oxide prices, recycling enterprises, influenced by fear of high prices, have been reluctant to blindly chase high prices, resulting in an actual slowdown in scrap purchases and a decrease in the scrap circulation volume in the market. The market has a strong wait-and-see sentiment, awaiting the conclusion of oxide market transactions.