[SMM Rare Earth Morning Brief] Pr-Nd Weakens and Dips, Off-Season for Magnetic Materials and High-Temperature Holidays Weaken Demand

SMM, July 24:

Rare Earth Ore:

• Prices: Rare earth carbonate prices were approximately 61,200 yuan/mt, medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore prices were approximately 252,000 yuan/mt, and rare earth chloride flake prices were approximately 63,500 yuan/mt.

• Supply and Demand: Currently, the overall circulation frequency of rare earth ore remains poor. Market trading conditions are stagnant, but rising oxide prices have led to an increase in actual rare earth ore transaction prices.

Rare Earth Oxides:

• Prices: Demand for Pr-Nd oxide remained persistently weak, with some traders edging down their quotes. Dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide quotes were temporarily stable.

• Supply and Demand: Yesterday, downstream metal plant inquiries remained weak. Some traders slightly lowered quotes, tracking the futures. Overall, Pr-Nd oxide prices were in the doldrums. For medium-heavy rare earths, upstream separation plants maintained firm quotes, with dysprosium oxide and terbium oxide prices relatively stable.

Rare Earth Metals:

• Prices: Pr-Nd alloy prices edged down with reduced market inquiries. Dysprosium-iron alloy prices were flat, while terbium metal prices edged down.

• Supply and Demand: Yesterday, affected by the pullback in oxide prices and weak purchasing enthusiasm from magnetic material enterprises, some metal suppliers lowered their quotes. Actual transactions remained weak. In the medium-heavy rare earth market, inquiries remained sluggish. Terbium metal prices edged down slightly, while dysprosium-iron alloy was relatively stable.

NdFeB Blanks:

• Prices: NdFeB blank N40 (Ce) was quoted at 222-232 yuan/kg, NdFeB blank 40M at 263-273 yuan/kg, and NdFeB blank 40UH at 367-387 yuan/kg.

• Supply and Demand: Yesterday, NdFeB blank quotes edged down slightly, primarily due to the decline in raw material prices driving down magnetic material quotes. In terms of trading, as July nears its end, high-temperature weather has arrived across various regions in China. Motor factories and end-users have gradually begun their high-temperature holidays, leading to a clear weakening in operating rates at motor factories and end-users. This has reduced demand for rare earth permanent magnets, ultimately resulting in persistently low market trading activity for NdFeB.

NdFeB Scrap:

• Prices: Prices for Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap were stable, while prices for dysprosium and terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap were stable.

• Supply and Demand: Yesterday, scrap market prices remained stable. Influenced by relatively small oxide price fluctuations and the current limited circulation of compliant, tax-paid scrap, low-priced scrap was hard to find in the market. Recycling enterprises made no significant adjustments to their external purchasing quotes, and the difficulty of sourcing scrap remained relatively high.