【 2023 47th Week Spot Market Weekly Report 】 The rare earth prices continue to decline

“This week, the rare earth market has been operating in a weak state, with slow growth in downstream orders and a majority of merchants on the sidelines. Despite positive news, the short-term boost to the market is limited. The dysprosium and terbium market is sluggish, and prices continue to decline. Although the number of inquiries for praseodymium  neodymium products has increased, only a small number of transactions are needed, resulting in fluctuating prices. At present, it seems that the future will still maintain a weak operation, and the price fluctuation will not be too significant.”

01

Overview of Rare Earth Spot Market

This week, transactions in the rare earth spot market were lackluster, mainstream product prices continued to decline, commodity production and market inventory showed a double decline, and the overall market support was insufficient, exacerbating the pessimistic atmosphere. The inquiry for dysprosium and terbium  products is scarce, and the price has dropped significantly. Although there is a strong demand for transactions for praseodymium  neodymium  products, the trading volume and price are not as expected.

At present, metal factories have poor sales, mainly delivering long-term orders, and raw material procurement is relatively cautious. Magnetic material factories mostly produce according to sales. Although large manufacturers have strong capabilities and constantly change their business strategies to reduce operational risks, the industry as a whole has fewer new orders and a continuous decline in profit margins. This has also made it increasingly difficult for small and medium-sized manufacturers to survive, making it difficult for the magnetic material industry to recover in the short term.

The main reason for the above phenomenon is the sluggish downstream demand. Recently, some new energy vehicle and magnetic material production enterprises have shut down or reduced production, and most magnetic material enterprises have operating rates of around 70% to 80%. The main consumption of existing inventory by enterprises is a significant decrease in procurement, which indirectly leads to continuous shipments by trading enterprises.

At the same time, Myanmar’s imports have resumed and the Mangtympas rare earth mine continues to increase production. In the first 10 months of 2023, China has imported a total of 145000 tons of rare earth, an increase of 39.8% year-on-year. The significant increase in imported rare earth raw materials has impacted the upstream market of rare earth, and some companies are selling at a profit to gain a larger market share, which has also led to a sustained decline in rare earth prices.

At present, the weakness of the magnetic material industry has also led to a shortage of raw materials and a decrease in finished product production for waste recycling enterprises. Waste recycling enterprises have relatively high costs, and their capital circulation rate is usually low. The continuous decline in rare earth prices has seriously affected their profits, and the pressure on business operations has doubled. They are more cautious in both raw material procurement and finished product sales.

In addition, the domestic and international economic situation, policy adjustments, and changes in currency exchange rates also have a significant impact on rare earth prices. In the face of market changes, rare earth enterprises should actively respond, grasp the market pulse, closely monitor market dynamics, especially changes in downstream markets, and better adjust production and sales strategies by deeply understanding market demand. Through technological innovation, we aim to increase the added value of our products, reduce costs and increase efficiency, enhance industrial profits, and promote the development of the rare earth industry.

02

Price changes of mainstream products

The price changes of mainstream rare earth products this week are shown in the figure above. As of Thursday, the quotation for praseodymium neodymium oxide was 501800 yuan/ton, a decrease of 9200 yuan/ton compared to last Friday’s price; The quotation for metal praseodymium neodymium is 618900 yuan/ton, a decrease of 9100 yuan/ton compared to last Friday’s price; The quotation for dysprosium oxide is 2.5263 million yuan/ton, a decrease of 56200 yuan/ton compared to last Friday’s price; The quotation for terbium oxide is 7.45 million yuan/ton, a decrease of 300000 yuan/ton compared to last Friday’s price; The quotation for praseodymium oxide is 512500 yuan/ton, a decrease of 4500 yuan/ton compared to last Friday’s price; The quotation for gadolinium oxide is 261900 yuan/ton, a decrease of 8200 yuan/ton compared to last Friday’s price; The quotation for holmium oxide is 535000 yuan/ton, a decrease of 16400 yuan/ton compared to last Friday’s price; The quotation for neodymium oxide is 512600 yuan/ton, a decrease of 4000 yuan/ton compared to last Friday’s price.