Pr-Nd prices hold firm with a steady rise, trading tends to thin before the holiday [SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review]

September 30 news:

Rare earth ore:

This week, the mainstream reference price for rare earth carbonate was 59,800-60,000 yuan/mt. Miners maintained a stable pricing stance, and the overall trading atmosphere before the holiday was subdued. Downstream metal plants showed limited willingness to stockpile, mostly digesting inventories, with limited actual transactions. Rare earth chloride sheets remained at 63,000-64,000 yuan/mt, with suppliers' offers basically flat. Downstream buyers only made small just-in-time purchases based on orders, and the market lacked support from large orders. Medium-yttrium, europium-rich ore traded at 247,000-249,000 yuan/mt. The tight ore supply pattern persisted, but downstream acceptance of current high prices was moderate, with limited willingness to chase higher prices, and transactions mostly remained at the inquiry stage. Monazite ore was around 41,000-45,000 yuan/mt, with both supply and demand weak, sparse actual transactions, and prices lacking clear direction.

Rare earth oxides:

This week, lanthanum oxide was 5,500-6,000 yuan/mt and cerium oxide was 14,000-14,500 yuan/mt. Demand for lanthanum-cerium products showed no significant improvement, with downstream mostly executing long-term contracts and making sporadic just-in-time purchases. Overall transactions were sluggish and prices lacked upward momentum. Pr-Nd oxide was 738,000-741,000 yuan/mt. Suppliers held back from selling and held prices firm, with offers continuously raised, but metal plants were hesitant to purchase at high prices, limiting actual transaction volumes. Amid the tug-of-war between upstream and downstream, transactions were mostly small rigid orders.

This week, dysprosium oxide was 1.42-1.44 million yuan/mt. Suppliers showed strong willingness to hold prices firm, and low-priced sources were notably tightened, but high-priced transactions were not smooth. Downstream inquiries were mostly just-in-time, with cautious batch restocking. Terbium oxide was 6.52-6.55 million yuan/mt. Downstream acceptance of high prices was weak, and the negotiation center edged down slightly. Overall market offer activity was mediocre and transactions were sluggish. Gadolinium oxide was 190,000-192,000 yuan/mt. Downstream inquiries remained weak, and suppliers showed low willingness to adjust prices, mostly holding prices steady and waiting. Holmium oxide was 635,000-637,500 yuan/mt, consolidating, with limited changes in supply-demand fundamentals. Erbium oxide was 670,000-675,000 yuan/mt, with weak downstream inquiries and insufficient transaction follow-through. Yttrium oxide (5N) was 58,000-60,000 yuan/mt and yttrium oxide (3N) was 28,000-30,000 yuan/mt. Demand was mediocre and downstream follow-through was insufficient, with prices lacking upward momentum.

Rare earth metals:

In light rare earths, cerium metal prices showed no significant fluctuations this week, with suppliers' offers stable at 28,000-29,000 yuan/mt. Pr-Nd alloy prices were generally stable with a slight rise this week. At the beginning of the week, influenced by the stable performance of Pr-Nd oxide prices, metal enterprises maintained stable offers. Toward the weekend, driven by increased market trading activity and tightened low-priced sources, suppliers' willingness to concede on prices weakened. Coupled with large magnetic material plants entering the market for tender procurement, metal enterprises raised their offers as their willingness to sell at low prices weakened. As of today, suppliers' offers were adjusted to 895,000-900,000 yuan/mt. Pre-holiday inquiry sentiment was more active than earlier, with actual orders gradually following up, but overall trading volume did not show significant expansion.

For medium-heavy rare earths, dysprosium-iron alloy closed at 1.37-1.38 million yuan/mt, with prices stable this week. Oxide and metal quotations were unchanged, downstream inquiries were steady, and transactions were mainly small rigid-demand orders. Terbium metal closed at 8.15-8.18 million yuan/mt this week, overall stable, with market inquiries relatively sluggish and actual transactions scarce. Gadolinium-iron alloy prices were stable this week, with suppliers quoting steadily at 182,000-185,000 yuan/mt. Market inquiry activity was limited, and trading performance was mediocre. Holmium-iron alloy closed at 640,000-645,000 yuan/mt this week, stable, with downstream inquiry and purchasing attitudes still wait-and-see and actual transaction follow-through limited.

NdFeB blanks:

Currently, NdFeB blank N38 (Ce) closed at 213~223 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 38M closed at 251~271 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 40H closed at 263~273 yuan/kg; NdFeB blank 45SH (Ce) closed at 313~333 yuan/kg.

In terms of prices, NdFeB prices remained stable this week, mainly because stable raw material prices supported NdFeB price stability. In terms of trading, NdFeB market trading volume recovered somewhat this week. On one hand, at end-September, some motor and end-user producers placed orders successively to stockpile for Q4, driving a recovery in NdFeB market trading volume. On the other hand, inquiry volumes in markets outside China also recovered somewhat, boosting NdFeB market trading volume this week.

NdFeB scrap:

This week, Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 755-760 yuan/kg; dysprosium recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 1,230-1,250 yuan/kg; terbium recycled from NdFeB scrap closed at 5,600-5,800 yuan/kg.

This week, scrap market prices were overall stable, with slight upward adjustments near the weekend. At the start of the week, affected by relatively small fluctuations in Pr-Nd oxide prices, recyclers made no notable adjustments to external purchase quotations. Pr-Nd scrap prices remained stable, and scrap suppliers showed low willingness to sell, mostly adopting a wait-and-see stance. Mid-week, the market continued its stable pattern, with recyclers' purchase quotations and scrap prices showing no notable adjustments, and trading performance was mediocre. Near the weekend, as Pr-Nd inquiries recovered and transactions improved marginally, recyclers' purchase quotations were raised slightly accordingly, and scrap prices moved higher. However, with pre-holiday stockpiling largely completed and weak willingness to chase higher prices, actual gains were relatively limited. Meanwhile, the market gradually entered a pre-holiday wait-and-see state, and overall trading thinned.