According to the commodity market analysis system of the business community, the price index of the domestic rare earth market fell, and the domestic light rare earth market continued to fall. On April 23, the rare earth index was 460 points, down 54.32% from the cycle’s highest point of 1007 points (2022-02-24), and up 69.74% from the lowest point of 271 points on September 13, 2015. (Note: The cycle refers to the period from December 1st, 2011 to the present)

The prices of neodymium oxide, metallic neodymium, praseodymium oxide, metallic praseodymium, praseodymium neodymium alloy, and praseodymium neodymium oxide in China have declined. As of the 24th, the price of metallic praseodymium neodymium was 570000 yuan/ton, with a weekly price decline of 2.56%; The price of praseodymium neodymium oxide was 470000 yuan/ton, with a weekly price decrease of 1.57%; The price of neodymium oxide is 480000 yuan/ton, with a weekly price decrease of 3.03%; The price of neodymium metal was 620000 yuan/ton, with a weekly price decrease of 6.06%; The price of metal praseodymium was 645000 yuan/ton, with a weekly price decline of 4.44%; The price of praseodymium oxide was 475000 yuan/ton, with a weekly price decrease of 2.06%.

Recently, the light rare earth market has continued to decline, and the buyer’s wait-and-see sentiment has intensified. Downstream demand has not yet recovered, and market information is still weak. The light rare earth market is constantly declining. The order situation in the domestic terminal market has not significantly improved. Overall, the order volume has decreased, and large manufacturers have a clear competitive advantage. Some small and medium-sized neodymium iron boron enterprises are facing operational difficulties. In addition, the operation of enterprises with export orders is not ideal, and due to the drastic fluctuations in raw material prices, the purchasing party has a serious resistance mentality. The order situation of downstream magnetic material enterprises has remained sluggish, with magnetic material factories mainly consuming existing inventory. The actual transaction price of rare earths continues to shift downward, putting pressure on the rare earth market. The pessimism in the rare earth market is heavy. Most of the operators continue to be short of the short-term price of rare earth. Affected by multiple factors, the price of the domestic rare earth market continues to decline.

According to statistics, the demand for new energy vehicles is still acceptable. According to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the production and sales of new energy vehicles completed 674000 and 653000 units in March, with a month on month increase of 22% and 24.4%, and a year-on-year increase of 44.8% and 34.8%, respectively. The market share reached 26.6%. Although the production and sales of new energy vehicles have increased, the purchase of downstream permanent magnets is very rare, and the price of light rare earth is not optimistic.

Future Market Forecast: In the near future, downstream rare earth merchants have been purchasing weakly, and demand is unlikely to improve. In addition, upstream supply is sufficient, the supply-demand contradiction is sharp, and the transaction situation is poor. In addition, the second quarter is gradually entering the off-season of the rare earth industry, and the decline in the light rare earth market is difficult to change in the short term.