Pr-Nd prices fluctuated rangebound, medium-heavy rare earth market remained sluggish [SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]

September 18 (SMM) -

Rare Earth Ore:

Today, the price range for rare earth carbonate was 46,000-46,300 yuan/mt, monazite adjusted to 53,500-54,500 yuan/mt, and medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore was around 218,000-220,000 yuan/mt. Currently, light rare earth ore supply is slightly insufficient, while ion-adsorption ore supply is relatively ample. However, separation plants' purchase willingness remains weak, and actual transactions in the ion-adsorption ore market were sluggish.

Rare Earth Oxides:

Currently, lanthanum oxide prices held steady at 4,300-4,900 yuan/mt, while cerium oxide prices were further raised this week to 10,800-11,200 yuan/mt. The fundamentals for cerium oxide are tight, and suppliers have high expectations for future prices, leading to higher offers. This week, Pr-Nd oxide prices fluctuated repeatedly. At the beginning of the week, driven by concentrated tenders from major magnetic material enterprises, downstream procurement strength increased. Meanwhile, suppliers quickly raised their offers. However, as Pr-Nd oxide prices rose above 580,000 yuan/mt, alloy plants' willingness to take orders declined, causing Pr-Nd prices to pull back again to 568,000-572,000 yuan/mt. In the medium-heavy rare earth sector, dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide prices fluctuated at lows after market speculation cooled, with dysprosium oxide trading between 1.62-1.63 million yuan/mt and terbium oxide stabilizing at 7.15-7.2 million yuan/mt. Holmium oxide and erbium oxide saw sluggish market inquiries this week, and their prices continued in the doldrums. Holmium oxide prices pulled back to 545,000-555,000 yuan/mt during the week, and erbium oxide prices further retreated to the range of 334,000-336,000 yuan/mt. Yttrium oxide prices remained stable this week within the range of 48,000-50,000 yuan/mt, showing no significant fluctuations.

Rare Earth Metals:

This week, Pr-Nd alloy closed at 695,000-705,000 yuan/mt, pulling back from the beginning of the week. At the start of the week, influenced by tenders for Pr-Nd alloy from several major magnetic material enterprises, market sentiment turned bullish again. Metal enterprises showed weak willingness to sell at low prices, driving a slight price increase. However, after the concentrated procurement by downstream magnetic material enterprises ended, overall market inquiries were sluggish, actual transactions were few, and prices pulled back. As of now, major magnetic material enterprises began tendering for Pr-Nd alloy, and market prices tended to stabilize. In the medium-heavy rare earth sector, terbium metal closed at 8.85-8.95 million yuan/mt, and dysprosium-iron alloy closed at 1.57-1.59 million yuan/mt. Affected by weak procurement demand from downstream magnetic material enterprises, inquiries for medium-heavy metals such as dysprosium and terbium were generally sluggish. Metal enterprises showed weak willingness to offer, actual transactions were in the doldrums, terbium metal prices weakened slightly, while dysprosium product prices overall operated steadily.

Rare earth permanent magnets:

NdFeB blank prices, NdFeB blank N38 (Ce) closed at 200-210 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40M price closed at 246~256 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40H price closed at 250-260 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 45SH (Ce) price closed at 300~320 yuan/kg.

This week, the rare earth magnetic material market showed a slight pullback in quotations and overall stable trading activity. The core reason was that the rigid restocking demand led by major magnetic material enterprises had temporarily come to an end, and end-use demand failed to follow up continuously, leading to a lack of clear demand support. At the same time, raw materials such as Pr-Nd oxide were generally stable with a slight fall, weakening the cost support for magnetic material products, resulting in a slight decrease in quotations. In terms of market transaction volume, due to cautious purchase willingness from downstream motor and end-user enterprises, new orders were limited, and overall transactions of magnetic material factories were average. Although the traditional September-October peak season demand has passed the halfway point, the momentum of subsequent orders is showing a weakening trend. The competitive landscape continues to diverge: top-tier enterprises maintained high operating rates supported by overseas orders and the push for annual targets at year-end, while mid-tier and lower-tier enterprises were generally affected by weak domestic demand, with mediocre operating conditions.

Rare earth scrap:

This week, Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 590-595 yuan/kg; dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 1,620-1,643 yuan/kg; terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 5,439-5,550 yuan/kg.

This week, the scrap market experienced a process of jumping initially and then pulling back, mainly due to the recovery in procurement demand from magnetic material enterprises. Multiple magnetic material enterprises tendered for Pr-Nd alloy, driving the warming up of the oxide market. The bullish sentiment in the scrap market was boosted, and the trading activity improved compared to last week. However, after the concentrated procurement by magnetic material enterprises ended, oxide prices began to decline, and the purchasing willingness of recycling enterprises weakened. Scrap market prices started to pull back, and the circulation volume of the scrap market significantly decreased compared to the beginning of the week. Overall, the trading activity in the market was average, and prices began to stabilize. In general, with the end of concentrated procurement by magnetic material enterprises, the trading activity in the oxide market slowed down, and the scrap market prices stabilized after the initial jump. Recycling enterprises were relatively cautious in their purchases. It is expected that in the short term, influenced by the pre-National Day concentrated procurement and restocking by magnetic material enterprises, oxide market prices will stabilize and recover, and scrap prices are likely to rise.