According to the monitoring of the business community, the price index of the domestic rare earth market fell slightly, and the domestic rare earth market was weak and hard to change. On November 14, the rare earth index was 628 points, down 2.90% from the beginning of the month, down 37.64% from the peak of 1007 points (2022-02-24) in the cycle, and up 131.73% from the lowest point of 271 points on September 13, 2015. (Note: the cycle refers to the period from December 1, 2011 to the present).

The prices of domestic metal praseodymium, neodymium oxide, praseodymium oxide, praseodymium neodymium alloy and praseodymium neodymium oxide have declined to varying degrees. As of the 15th, the price of praseodymium and neodymium metal was 785000 yuan/ton, down 0.63% from the beginning of the month; The price of praseodymium neodymium oxide was 642500 yuan/ton, 0.39% lower than that at the beginning of the month; The price of neodymium oxide was 715,000 yuan/ton, down 2.72% from the beginning of the month; The price of neodymium metal was 905000 yuan/ton, 0.55% lower than that at the beginning of the month; The price of praseodymium metal was 905000 yuan/ton, 4.23% lower than that at the beginning of the month; The price of praseodymium oxide was 665,000 yuan/ton, 8.28% lower than the price at the beginning of the month.

The circulation of light rare earths in China has decreased, the inventory of enterprises is overstocked, and the downstream inquiry list is cold. The procurement is poor, and the market situation of light rare earths is weak. The supply of light rare earths is mainly concentrated in Inner Mongolia. Due to the limited transportation in Baotou and other regions, the manufacturer’s shipment is limited, and the production of enterprises is relatively normal, but the transportation is relatively difficult, and the spot supply has decreased.

Recently, the inventory of downstream magnetic material merchants still exists, and some manufacturers mainly digest the inventory. The purchasing mood is not good, resulting in the scarcity of orders, the difficulty of dealers in shipping, and the decline of rare earth market.

According to the data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the production and sales of automobiles in China will reach 2.599 million and 2.505 million respectively in October 2022, up 11.1% and 6.9% year on year. Among them, the production and sales of new energy vehicles reached 762000 and 714000 respectively, with year-on-year growth of 87.6% and 81.7%, and the market share reached 28.5%. The production and sales of automobiles rose, the demand in the new energy field was still supported, and the decline in the domestic rare earth market was limited.

The new energy vehicles, wind power and variable frequency air conditioners in the downstream of rare earths are in sustainable development. In the short term, the epidemic situation in some regions is repeated, the downstream procurement is limited, and the orders of magnetic material manufacturers are poor. The downstream businesses mainly digest the inventory. Chen Ling, an analyst of the business community, expects that the rare earth market is weak and difficult to change. In the long run, the demand for rare earths is still guaranteed, and there is no lack of the possibility of recovery.