Increased Downstream Stockpiling and Procurement Activities Drive Continuous Rise in Pr-Nd Prices [SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]

January 29 news:

Rare earth ore:

Today, the price range for rare earth carbonate was 59,900-60,600 yuan/mt, monazite price adjusted to 6.3-6.5 yuan/mt, and medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore price was about 245,000-247,000 yuan/mt. Recently, some rare earth separation enterprises conducted restocking purchases, but the pressure to push for lower prices remained strong. Meanwhile, the continuous rise in oxide prices also led to a significant recent increase in rare earth ore prices.

Rare earth oxides:

This week, lanthanum oxide price remained stable at 4,300-4,700 yuan/mt, cerium oxide price rose slightly to 11,600-12,200 yuan/mt. Pr-Nd oxide price continued to rise this week, as supply from separation plants remained tight, suppliers kept raising offers, and market sentiment was bullish, leading to active downstream procurement. The price of Pr-Nd oxide increased at a faster pace during the week, adjusting to 740,000-748,000 yuan/mt by today. In the medium-heavy rare earth sector, the dysprosium oxide market remained sluggish, with suppliers actively selling at lower prices, and the transaction price for dysprosium oxide continued to retreat this week to 1.4-1.41 million yuan/mt. Terbium oxide price also continued to decline, with low downstream procurement enthusiasm, and supplier offers adjusted to 6.15-6.2 million yuan/mt. Gadolinium oxide followed the upward trend in the Pr-Nd oxide market; although downstream gadolinium iron alloy transactions were weak, supplier offers held firm, and gadolinium oxide price increased to 200,000-208,000 yuan/mt. Holmium oxide market saw good inquiries this week, with actual transaction prices slightly raised, adjusting to the range of 535,000-538,000 yuan/mt. Erbium oxide price rose rapidly this week, as spot supply was tight, suppliers kept raising offers, and downstream inquiries and purchases were active, with its transaction price adjusting to the range of 383,000-386,000 yuan/mt this week. Yttrium oxide market remained highly active in inquiries this week, supplier offers rose quickly, and transaction prices climbed steadily, with its price increasing to 68,000-70,000 yuan/mt during the week.

Rare earth metals:

This week, Pr-Nd alloy price rose rapidly, reaching 900,000-910,000 yuan/mt. Driven by stockpiling purchases from downstream magnetic material enterprises, the Pr-Nd alloy market saw active trading and strong bullish sentiment. Meanwhile, spot supply of Pr-Nd oxide remained tight, upstream suppliers were less willing to sell at low prices, and procurement costs for Pr-Nd alloy increased significantly, leading to continued price rises supported by costs. However, due to the rapid increase in raw material prices and limited spot circulation, most metal enterprises began to suspend quotes for Pr-Nd alloy. In the medium-heavy rare earth market, dysprosium-iron alloy was quoted at 1.36-1.38 million yuan/mt. As magnetic material enterprises concentrated their procurement focus on the Pr-Nd market, inquiries for dysprosium-iron alloy were sluggish, leading to persistently weak market offers. Terbium metal prices fell to 7.68-7.7 million yuan/mt due to reduced inquiry activity from downstream magnetic material enterprises, with some suppliers actively lowering prices to sell, yet market transactions did not improve. Gadolinium-iron alloy prices rose to 200,000-205,000 yuan/mt this week, driven by continuous increases in Pr-Nd prices, strong bullish sentiment among suppliers, and rising raw material costs.

Rare earth permanent magnets

Currently, NdFeB blank N38 (Ce) was quoted at 225-235 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40M was quoted at 271-281 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40H was quoted at 275-285 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 45SH (Ce) was quoted at 325-345 yuan/kg.

Prices, this week, NdFeB prices surged sharply, primarily because the rapid rise in Pr-Nd oxide and metal prices provided cost support for NdFeB. Magnetic material plants had to raise their offers to high levels. In terms of transactions, market activity recovered somewhat this week. On one hand, some types of customers conducted normal month-end restocking, increasing just-in-time procurement volume. On the other hand, due to low capacity utilization rates among NdFeB producers during the Chinese New Year holiday, they stockpiled in advance to maintain normal post-holiday production. Overall, NdFeB trading activity improved compared to last week, but the overall market transaction level remained relatively low.

Rare earth scrap:

This week, Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap was quoted at 730-750 yuan/kg; dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap was quoted at 1,350-1,380 yuan/kg; terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap was quoted at 5,900-6,100 yuan/kg.

This week, scrap market prices increased significantly, mainly influenced by the rapid price surge of Pr-Nd oxide. As spot supply of Pr-Nd oxide remained tight, coupled with stockpiling and procurement by downstream magnetic material enterprises, oxide market prices continued to rise. Affected by this, scrap suppliers held strong bullish sentiment, reducing their willingness to sell at low prices. Recycling enterprises were forced to raise their procurement offers for scrap, but their willingness to chase higher prices was low, resulting in relatively small price increases for scrap. Overall, driven by the rise in Pr-Nd oxide prices, the scrap market exhibited strong bullish sentiment, and recycling enterprises correspondingly raised their procurement offers.