February 5 (SMM) -
Rare Earth Ore:
Today, the price range for rare earth carbonate was 60,500-60,900 yuan/mt, monazite prices adjusted to 6.13-6.43 yuan/mt, and medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore prices were around 247,000-248,000 yuan/mt. Recently, most traders showed relatively low enthusiasm for pre-holiday shipments, downstream separation enterprises concluded stockpiling, and trading activity in the rare earth ore market was sluggish.
Rare Earth Oxides:
This week, lanthanum oxide prices remained stable at 4,300-4,700 yuan/mt, while cerium oxide prices rose further to 11,800-12,500 yuan/mt. Pr-Nd oxide market offers remained high this week, with suppliers holding optimistic expectations for the future and unwilling to sell at low prices. However, downstream buyers gradually began holidays and halted procurement, leading to a noticeable decline in actual transaction activity for Pr-Nd oxide. As of today, Pr-Nd oxide prices fluctuated upward to 747,000-753,000 yuan/mt. In the medium-heavy rare earth segment, actual transactions for dysprosium oxide were relatively sluggish, though supplier offers remained firm. Transaction prices for dysprosium oxide adjusted slightly this week to 1.39-1.41 million yuan/mt. Terbium oxide prices saw relatively small fluctuations during the week, with low market trading activity, and supplier offers adjusted to 6.15-6.2 million yuan/mt. Gadolinium oxide prices continued to rise alongside the Pr-Nd oxide market, with supplier offers increasing to 215,000-220,000 yuan/mt. Holmium oxide market offers continued to rise, but transaction activity also declined, with prices adjusting to the range of 545,000-555,000 yuan/mt. Spot supply for erbium oxide remained tight, and market inquiries stayed active, pushing prices up further to 396,000-400,000 yuan/mt. Approaching the Chinese New Year holiday, inquiry activity in the rare earth oxides market dropped significantly, but most suppliers held firm on offers. Yttrium oxide prices remained stable within the range of 68,000-70,000 yuan/mt this week.
Rare Earth Metals:
This week, Pr-Nd alloy prices showed a trend of fluctuating upward, rising to 910,000-920,000 yuan/mt. At the start of the week, Pr-Nd alloy prices saw a noticeable pullback as some suppliers, aiming to recoup funds ahead of the holiday, actively reduced prices to sell, leading to a significant decline. Mid-week, however, as metal enterprises concentrated on fulfilling long-term contract orders or processing orders, spot market availability tightened, and metal enterprise offers became relatively firm. Coupled with rising raw material prices, Pr-Nd alloy prices increased. Nevertheless, downstream magnetic material enterprises gradually began holidays, and overall market trading performance was sluggish. In the medium-heavy rare earth metals market, dysprosium-iron alloy prices were reported at 1.35-1.37 million yuan/mt. Due to weak procurement demand from downstream magnetic material enterprises and few market inquiries, metal enterprises showed little willingness to offer, and market prices operated in the doldrums. The price of terbium metal was also affected by the decrease in procurement inquiries from magnetic material enterprises. Due to reduced inquiry activities from downstream magnetic material enterprises, some suppliers proactively lowered prices to sell, but market transactions remained sluggish, with the price dropping to 7.6-7.65 million yuan/mt. Gadolinium-iron alloy this week was influenced by the continued price increase of Pr-Nd, as suppliers showed weak willingness to sell at low prices. Coupled with the rise in gadolinium oxide prices, offers continued to increase, with the price rising to 210,000-215,000 yuan/mt.
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.
In terms of prices, NdFeB prices remained stable this week. The core reason was that the prices of raw materials for NdFeB, praseodymium-neodymium oxide and metal, fluctuated at highs, leading magnetic material plants to maintain high and stable external quotes. In terms of transactions, market activity was moderate this week. On one hand, as the Chinese New Year holiday approached, the processing capacity of various magnetic material plants declined, and transactions were suspended, with only existing orders being maintained for production. On the other hand, motor plants were constrained by rising costs due to high commodity prices, resulting in an overall slowdown in operating rates compared to before, which in turn led to a slowdown in procurement of magnetic steel and moderate market transaction activity.
Rare Earth Scrap:
This week, Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap was quoted at 730-740 yuan/kg; dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap was quoted at 1,330-1,350 yuan/kg; terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap was quoted at 5,800-6,000 yuan/kg.
This week, the scrap market overall was in the doldrums, mainly due to the approaching Chinese New Year holiday, as some recycling enterprises suspended procurement and pricing. Additionally, magnetic material enterprises gradually began holidays, leading to a significant decline in market trading activity. Although oxide market prices continued to rise, actual transactions were scarce. Recycling enterprises showed low willingness to purchase high-priced scrap and began adopting controlled pricing procurement strategies. Overall, as the Chinese New Year holiday approached, market trading atmosphere was sluggish, and recycling enterprises had weak willingness to purchase at high prices, resulting in the overall weak performance of scrap prices.
