SMM May 15: This week (May 11-15), the Pr-Nd alloy market overall fluctuated downward. At the beginning of the week (May 11-12), influenced by news related to Trump's visit to China and China-US economic and trade consultations, Pr-Nd oxide futures recovered somewhat, driving bullish sentiment in the spot market and gradually tightening low-priced supply. However, downstream magnetic material enterprises' inquiry and purchase activities remained insufficiently active, with high-priced transactions difficult to conclude. Pr-Nd alloy prices overall held steady, with quotes maintained around 920,000-930,000 yuan/mt, and wait-and-see sentiment was strong in the market.
Entering mid-week (May 13), market sentiment took a sharp turn downward. Affected by the significant decline in Pr-Nd oxide futures prices, some traders lost confidence in the market outlook and proactively lowered their selling quotes. The sharp decline in raw material prices, combined with persistently sluggish downstream inquiries, pushed Pr-Nd alloy spot quotes down to 895,000-910,000 yuan/mt, with the lowest quotes from metal enterprises in north China reaching 895,000 yuan/mt. Downstream magnetic material enterprises, influenced by the mentality to rush to buy amid continuous price rise and hold back amid price downturn, showed weakened purchase willingness, mostly pushing for lower prices in their inquiries, and market transactions were dismal. Approaching the weekend (May 14-15), the market diverged. On Thursday, Pr-Nd oxide futures prices recovered somewhat, and combined with increased downstream inquiry and purchase activities, some metal enterprises successively concluded transactions, and Pr-Nd alloy prices stopped falling and stabilized. However, on Friday, inquiries and purchases in the metal market turned cold again, Pr-Nd alloy prices were in the doldrums, and afternoon prices fell to 895,000-905,000 yuan/mt.
Looking at the full week, Pr-Nd alloy prices overall trended downward, declining from 920,000-930,000 yuan/mt at the beginning of the week to 895,000-905,000 yuan/mt. On the supply side, the tight balance in supply and demand fundamentals of spot Pr-Nd oxide did not undergo fundamental changes, and factories had relatively weak willingness to sell at low prices. However, some traders, disturbed by futures prices, proactively lowered their selling prices, causing Pr-Nd alloy to lack raw material cost support. On the demand side, performance was weak, with downstream magnetic material enterprises maintaining strong wait-and-see sentiment and only releasing small restocking demand when prices hit bottom. Looking ahead, although downstream new orders remained poor, with most enterprises focused on digesting existing orders, some small and medium-sized enterprises' raw material inventory was approaching low levels, highlighting rigid restocking demand. If favorable news emerges from China-US economic and trade consultations, Pr-Nd alloy prices are expected to stop falling and recover; otherwise, they may maintain a sideways movement in the short term.
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