Rare Earth Prices Fluctuated Relatively Little, While Downstream Procurement Demand Remained Weak [SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]

Published: Mar 26, 2026 16:06
[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Rare Earth Prices Saw Relatively Small Fluctuations, While Downstream Procurement Demand Remained Weak] The Pr-Nd oxide market was relatively calm this week. Demand from downstream metal plants was sluggish, but upstream supply also remained tight. Suppliers were unwilling to make shipments at low prices, and the back-and-forth negotiations between upstream and downstream remained in a stalemate. Pr-Nd oxide prices saw small fluctuations to 710,000-715,000 yuan/mt.

March 26 News:

Rare Earth Ore:

Today, the price range of rare earth carbonate was 57,500-57,900 yuan/mt, monazite prices were adjusted to 5.1-5.5 yuan/mt, and medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore was priced at about 237,000-239,000 yuan/mt. Recently, trading in the rare earth ore market remained sluggish, separation plants showed weak purchase willingness, and actual transaction prices for rare earth ore stayed low.

Rare Earth Oxides:

Lanthanum oxide prices remained stable this week at 5,000-5,300 yuan/mt. Cerium oxide supply remained tight, and quotations in Inner Mongolia and Sichuan were raised, pushing prices up to 14,500-15,000 yuan/mt during the week. The Pr-Nd oxide market was relatively calm this week. Downstream metal plants saw weak demand, while upstream supply also remained tight. Suppliers were unwilling to make shipments at low prices, and back-and-forth negotiations between upstream and downstream remained in stalemate, with Pr-Nd oxide prices fluctuating slightly to 710,000-715,000 yuan/mt. In the medium-heavy rare earth segment, dysprosium oxide demand remained weak, but supplier quotations stayed firm, with prices adjusted slightly to 1.38-1.4 million yuan/mt this week. The terbium oxide market was relatively sluggish this week, with both quotations and inquiry activity at low levels, and prices edged to 6.06-6.1 million yuan/mt during the week. Some traders of gadolinium oxide proactively cut prices for shipments, lowering quotations to 210,000-215,000 yuan/mt. Holmium oxide quotations also saw a slight decline this week, falling to 540,000-545,000 yuan/mt. Erbium oxide supplier quotations were generally relatively stable, with prices slightly adjusted to 400,000-406,000 yuan/mt this week. Yttrium oxide market prices remained relatively stable this week, temporarily holding at 70,000-73,000 yuan/mt.

Rare Earth Metals:

This week, cerium metal prices were raised to 34,500-35,500 yuan/mt, affected by continued increases in raw material prices. Pr-Nd alloy prices continued to weaken to 870,000-890,000 yuan/mt, mainly due to persistently weak procurement demand from downstream magnetic material enterprises. Downstream buyers still mainly restocked for rigid demand, showing limited acceptance of high-priced metal, and inquiry prices remained relatively low, leaving Pr-Nd alloy prices under pressure. In the medium-heavy rare earth market, dysprosium-iron alloy was quoted at 1.32-1.35 million yuan/mt. It was also affected by weak downstream procurement demand, with low downstream inquiry prices, though metal enterprise quotations remained relatively firm due to cost support from dysprosium oxide. Terbium metal prices were lowered to 7.55-7.6 million yuan/mt, mainly due to the pullback in terbium oxide prices, coupled with reduced inquiry activity from downstream magnetic material enterprises, prompting some suppliers to lower quotations. This week, gadolinium-iron alloy quotations were lowered to 205,000-210,000 yuan/mt amid a marked pullback in gadolinium oxide prices and relatively limited downstream inquiry and procurement activity.

Rare Earth Permanent Magnets:

Currently, NdFeB blank N38 (Ce) was quoted at 234-244 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40M was quoted at 280~290 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40H was quoted at 284-294 yuan/kg; and NdFeB blank 45SH (Ce) was quoted at 334~354 yuan/kg.

Price-wise, NdFeB prices remained generally stable this week, mainly because prices of Pr-Nd oxide and metal, the raw materials for NdFeB, were temporarily stable this week. In terms of trading, market activity was average this week, mainly because upstream raw material prices were stable with slight declines, while downstream wait-and-see sentiment remained strong.

Rare Earth Scrap:

This week, Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap was quoted at 700-710 yuan/kg; dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap was quoted at 1,330-1,350 yuan/kg; and terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap was quoted at 5,800-6,000 yuan/kg.

Scrap prices stabilized this week after a slight increase. This was mainly affected by the relatively small fluctuations in oxide prices. At the beginning of the week, driven by a slight increase in Pr-Nd oxide prices, recycling enterprises correspondingly raised their procurement quotations for order signing. Although Pr-Nd oxide prices later weakened, scrap suppliers showed relatively weak willingness to sell at low prices. To ensure normal procurement, recycling enterprises kept prices running steadily, but actual trading performance was average, and overall market wait-and-see sentiment remained strong. Overall, as oxide price fluctuations were relatively small, scrap prices remained generally stable, but actual trading performance was average, and market wait-and-see sentiment remained strong.

Data Source Statement: Except for publicly available information, all other data are processed by SMM based on publicly available information, market communication, and relying on SMM‘s internal database model. They are for reference only and do not constitute decision-making recommendations.

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