The 51st week of 2023 rare earth market weekly report: Rare earth prices are gradually slowing down, and the weak trend in the rare earth market is expected to improve

“This week, the rare earth market continued to operate weakly, with relatively quiet market transactions. Downstream magnetic material companies have limited new orders, reduced procurement demand, and buyers are constantly pressing prices. Currently, the overall activity is still low. Recently, there have been signs of stabilization in rare earth prices, and the weak trend in the rare earth market is expected to improve.”

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Overview of Rare Earth Spot Market

This week, the rare earth market continued to operate weakly. Since the beginning of this year, downstream demand has decreased, and the order volume is lower than in previous years. At the same time, the import of rare earth minerals has significantly increased, and there is a high supply of spot goods in the market. As the end of the year approaches, holders have increased their willingness to monetize, but prices have declined, leading to a significant decrease in market activity. The sufficient supply of praseodymium neodymium products has led buyers to continuously lower prices. Despite continuous price adjustments by metal praseodymium neodymium enterprises, transactions are still difficult, and the willingness to ship continues to decrease.

The overall operating rate of downstream magnetic material factories is relatively low, and the decrease in product profits has led to tight working capital for various production enterprises. They can only purchase according to orders and reduce inventory. The waste recycling market is also not ideal, with the decline in rare earth prices, some separation enterprises stopping production or reducing operating rates, resulting in overall weak transactions. It is difficult to receive waste, and holders are temporarily adopting a wait-and-see attitude. Some merchants have expressed that there is a high risk of purchasing waste in the near future and will only recover after the market stabilizes.

Recently, some separation plants in Jiangxi and Guangxi have stopped production and reduced production, resulting in a decrease in both production and inventory. There are signs of stabilization and stabilization, and the weak situation in the rare earth market is expected to improve.

Changes in mainstream product prices

The above table shows the price changes of mainstream rare earth products this week. As of Thursday, the quotation for praseodymium neodymium oxide is 448500 yuan/ton, with a price drop of 4900 yuan/ton; The quotation for metal praseodymium neodymium is 552000 yuan/ton, with a price drop of 11300 yuan/ton; The quotation for dysprosium oxide is 2.7013 million yuan/ton, with a price increase of 26300 yuan/ton; The quotation for terbium oxide is 8.0988 million yuan/ton, with a price increase of 142500 yuan/ton; The quotation for praseodymium oxide is 463300 yuan/ton, with a price decrease of 1000 yuan/ton; The quotation for gadolinium oxide is 207600 yuan/ton, with a price decrease of 400 yuan/ton; The quotation for holmium oxide is 473800 yuan/ton, with a price decrease of 10600 yuan/ton; The quotation for neodymium oxide is 458300 yuan/ton, with a price drop of 9000 yuan/ton.