Highlights

• Rare earth prices dropped, with praseodymium-neodymium oxide falling to 600,000-608,000 yuan/mt as traders sell and buyers resist high prices.
• Market shows thin liquidity, with downstream buyers reluctant to purchase at current price levels and producers pausing new orders.
• Investors should watch for signals of potential demand slowdown in EVs, wind power, and electronics sectors.

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Shanghai Metals Market reports (opens in a new tab) that rare earth prices softened this week, led by praseodymium-neodymium (Pr-Nd) oxide, which fell to 600,000–608,000 yuan/mt ($82,800–$83,900/mt) as traders dumped stock and downstream buyers resisted elevated prices. Gadolinium oxide also retreated, while dysprosium and terbium oxides stayed relatively stable.

The metals segment echoed this trend. Pr-Nd alloy slipped to 745,000–750,000 yuan/mt ($102,800–$103,400/mt), with demand support from a few large magnet factory tenders but thin trading elsewhere. Terbium metal closed at 8.68–8.75 million yuan/mt ($1.20–1.21 million/mt), while dysprosium-iron alloy ended at 1.56–1.58 million yuan/mt ($215,000–$218,000/mt), both slightly weaker on sluggish downstream inquiries.

Lanthanum oxide (4,300–4,900 yuan/mt, $593–$676/mt) and cerium oxide (10,500–11,000 yuan/mt, $1,448–$1,517/mt) remained stable. Erbium oxide (330,000–334,000 yuan/mt, $45,500–$46,000/mt) and yttrium oxide (48,000–50,000 yuan/mt, $6,620–$6,900/mt) also showed little change.

Scrap prices tracked the oxide market downward. Pr-Nd recycled from NdFeB scrap traded at 633–638 yuan/kg ($87–$88/kg), while dysprosium scrap fetched 1,620–1,643 yuan/kg ($223–$227/kg). Terbium scrap, though thinly traded, dropped to 5,439–5,550 yuan/kg ($750–$765/kg).

What This Really Means

• A buyer’s strike: End-users are hesitant to purchase at high levels, preferring to consume cheaper inventory.
• Thin liquidity: Traders lack confidence, and separation plants are cautious, leaving the market in standoff mode.
  

  Cost squeeze downstream: NdFeB magnet blank prices rose slightly, but consumer and industrial buyers aren’t absorbing costs, forcing producers to pause orders or bleed old stock.* Macro shadows: SMM notes “macro news” pressuring sentiment—but doesn’t specify whether this relates to tariffs, demand softness, or domestic policy shifts

Questions Investors Should Ask

• Is this dip a temporary correction after a sharp rally, or the start of a deeper demand slowdown in EVs, wind power, and electronics?
• Can alloy makers sustain record-high raw material costs without cutting production?
• Will scrap recycling liquidity recover, or is it another weak link in the chain?

Rare Earth Exchanges Take

The rare earth market remains confidence-sensitive and thinly traded. For retail investors, watching price charts alone is insufficient. The real signals lie in inventory levels, recycling flows, and downstream order patterns—all factors that determine whether price swings are blips or turning points. Also we note the topic here is not the ex-China market.

Source: Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), Aug. 28, 2025. “Rare Earth Prices Fluctuate Downward, Actual Market Transactions Stagnate.”

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