SMM August 21 News: This week, Pr-Nd alloy prices first declined and then rebounded. At the beginning of the week, prices continued to be in the doldrums, before stopping falling and rebounding toward the weekend. As of 17:00 Friday, Pr-Nd alloy was reported at 880,000 yuan/mt, up 10,000 yuan/mt from Thursday afternoon, flat compared with Friday morning. Today, Pr-Nd alloy stopped falling and followed the upward trend driven by the sharp raise in Pr-Nd oxide prices. This was mainly due to a large enterprise's procurement of Pr-Nd oxide yesterday, which quickly tightened low-priced supply on the market. Suppliers successively raised their quotes, and alloy enterprises followed suit with upward adjustments under the support of oxide costs, making low-priced materials hard to find. However, inquiry activity in the afternoon declined from yesterday, and downstream magnetic material enterprises were cautious in procurement, with limited actual transactions following up. Reviewing the weekly trend, Pr-Nd alloy prices this week showed a pattern of "first declining then rebounding": prices moved steadily at the start of the week, then weakened slightly from Tuesday as Pr-Nd oxide prices pulled back, hitting the week's low of 870,000 yuan/mt on Thursday. Toward the weekend, driven by the large enterprise's procurement of Pr-Nd oxide, prices rebounded strongly on Friday, rising 10,000 yuan/mt in a single day. As of 17:00 Friday, Pr-Nd alloy closed at 880,000 yuan/mt, up 5,000 yuan/mt from last Friday (875,000 yuan/mt), a WoW increase of 0.57%, halting the previous several weeks of decline and turning losses into gains. From the cost side, the cash cost of Pr-Nd alloy this week fell about 1,655 yuan/mt WoW, a decrease of about 0.19%, as cost pressure continued to ease; calculated based on Friday's closing price, the net profit per mt was about 6,700 yuan/mt, significantly expanded from last week, and profitability continued to improve. During the week, downstream magnetic material enterprises remained cautious in inquiries and procurement, with sluggish market trading activity. In mid-week, raw material prices were in the doldrums; some traders sold at low prices, and although alloy enterprises lowered their quotes accordingly, they were determined to hold prices firm, which narrowed the actual declines. Toward the weekend, raw material prices stopped falling and rebounded; alloy enterprises raised quotes accordingly, low-priced materials were hard to find, and trading activity recovered somewhat. In the short term, on the demand side, the "high-temperature holidays" of end-user motor enterprises are gradually ending, and with the approach of the traditional September-October peak season, top magnetic material enterprises have favorable expectations for order production schedules. The market holds strong expectations for downstream restocking and stockpiling. However, it remains to be seen whether the peak season demand expectations will be realized, as well as the release pace of new capacity for Pr-Nd oxide on the cost side. Pr-Nd alloy prices are expected to drift higher in a range sideways.

[ SMM Rare Earth Afternoon Trading Comment ] Ahead of the weekend, market trading sentiment was sluggish, and quotations and transactions in the Pr-Nd oxide market remained inactive for the time being; gadolinium oxide market quotations edged up along with Pr-Nd prices, downstream demand increased slightly, and low-priced supply tightened further; although inquiry activity in the Pr-Nd alloy market declined from yesterday, metal enterprises’ quotations were relatively firm, holding steady at 875,000-885,000 yuan/mt, with limited follow-up in actual transactions; inquiries in the ferro-gadolinium market increased, low-priced supply was hard to find, and prices were raised to 183,000-185,000 yuan/mt.

[SMM Rare Earth Daily: Rare Earth Low-Price Sources Hard to Find, Prices Hold Up Overall] Overall, driven by large factory purchases and tightening low-price sources, rare earth prices hold up overall. However, downstream inquiry activity has decreased from yesterday, and actual trading follow-up on the metal side is limited. In the short term, driven by the recovery of market trading activity, prices of products such as Pr-Nd and dysprosium may maintain a drifting higher trend.

[Major Producers’ Procurement Drove a Recovery in Pr-Nd Oxide; Metals Stopped Falling and Followed the Rise; Dysprosium Oxide Continued to Be Raised; Magnetic Material Scrap Stayed on the Sidelines] At present, the overall circulation frequency of rare earth ore remains poor, market trading is in a stalemate, and weaker oxide prices have led to a downward shift in the center of rare earth ore transaction prices.

[ SMM Afternoon Rare Earth Daily Comment ] In the afternoon, driven by purchases from large enterprises, inquiries for Pr-Nd oxide were active, with suppliers significantly raising their offers and downstream buyers' purchase willingness also increasing, leading to a rapid tightening of low-priced sources. Gadolinium oxide offers remained firm, with low-priced sources still hard to find, while its prices showed no significant fluctuations. The Pr-Nd alloy market saw increased inquiry activity, coupled with the recovery of Pr-Nd oxide prices, prompting metal enterprises to raise their quotes to 870,000-880,000 yuan/mt, with actual transactions gradually following. The ferro-gadolinium market did not see a notable increase in inquiry activity, and prices remained stable at 180,000-185,000 yuan/mt.

[SMM Rare Earth Weekly Review: Oxide Prices Diverge, Market Transactions Generally Sluggish] This week, Pr-Nd oxide prices were generally stable with a weak tone, with the center pulling down slightly. At the beginning of the week, market transactions were sluggish, suppliers were not willing to quote, and some suppliers refused to offer prices. However, downstream metal plants' purchase willingness remained poor, and large magnetic material companies did not enter the market for procurement as expected, leaving market inquiries sluggish. From Tuesday, prices pulled back slightly, and some traders continued to sell at low prices, leading to a spread of market pessimism. As of Thursday, Pr-Nd oxide prices pulled back slightly to 717,000-720,000 yuan/mt.