Rare Earths - China (scroll down for Rare Earths prices)

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Chinese Rare Earths: The Giant is in Control, Near and Long term

https://rareearthsinvestor.com/re-blog/f/chinese-rare-earths-the-giant-is-in-control-near-and-long-term

Chinese Rare Earths: A Boon for Rest of the World Production

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THIS MONTH 

China’s rare earth exports inched up 1% in June

SHANGHAI, Jul 14 (SMM) – China’s rare earth exports inched up nearly 1% from a month earlier to 2,892.8 mt in June, according to data from the country’s General Administration of Customs released on Tuesday.

That brought the tally for the first six months of the year to 21,115.4 mt, down 9.1% from the same period last year.

China’s new energy passenger car sales rose 25% in June: CPCA

SHANGHAI, Jul 9 (SMM) – China’s sales of new energy passenger cars increased 25% month on month to 83,000 units in June, according to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) released on Thursday.  Domestic passenger vehicle market has seen gradual improvement over the past four months. On a yearly basis, however, sales of new energy passenger cars shrank 38.8% in June. 

Accumulative sales in the first half of the year stood at 313,000 units, down 44% from a year ago. 

Separately, CPCA data also showed that China’s sales of passenger cars, including sedans, multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), came in at 1.66 million units in June, down 5.9% year on year while up 3.3% month on month. Passenger car sales during the January-June period amounted to 7.71 million units, down 22.5% on the year. 

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China Northern Rare Earth raised its listed price for PrNd oxide by 8%

SHANGHAI, Jun 11 (SMM) – China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-tech has sharply hiked its listed prices for praseodymium-neodymium products. According to a notice on the company's website released on Thursday June 11, the Baotou-based rare earths supplier will sell praseodymium-neodymium oxide at 310,000 yuan/mt, tax-included and ex-factory, for the month of June, up about 8% from the previous month. This month’s substantial increase followed a 0.7% rise in May. The rare earth producer slashed its listed price for praseodymium-neodymium oxide in March and April, by 6.3% and 5%, respectively, to 285,000 yuan/mt. Listed price for neodymium oxide rose 4.3% from May to 318,000 yuan/mt, and the prices for praseodymium-neodymium and neodymium metal climbed 7.5% and 3.9% to 389,000 yuan/mt and 400,000 yuan/mt, respectively. The company held its listed prices for lanthanum and cerium oxides both unchanged at 12,200 yuan/mt, after a cut of 3.2% in May. SMM assessed prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide at 290,500 yuan/mt as of June 11, the highest in six months. That marked an increase of nearly 12% from a multi-year low of 259,500 yuan/mt plumbed on April 10, as demand is recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and due to hopes of state stockpiling for reserve and concerns over raw materials supply amid rising tensions between the US and China.

China’s rare earth exports dropped 33.6% in May

SHANGHAI, Jun 8 (SMM) – China’s rare earth exports fell 33.6% from a month earlier to 2,865.3 mt in May, according to data from the country’s General Administration of Customs released on Sunday. That brought the tally for the first five months of the year to 18,222.6 mt, down 5.4% from the same period last year.

Praseodymium-neodymium oxides prices rose for five days as demand picks up

SHANGHAI, MAY 14 (SMM) - Prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxides, a type of light rare earth, increased for the fifth consecutive day as of May 14, lifted by stepped-up downstream stockpiling as demand resumes with the fading impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 

China rare earth exports fell 0.3% YoY in April

SHANGHAI, May 8 (SMM) – China exported 4,316.7 mt of rare earth in April, down 22.24% from an at least six-year high in March and down 0.28% from a year earlier, showed data from the General Administration of Customs released Thursday. Exports in the first four months this year totalled 15,357.3 mt, 1.7% lower from the same period a year earlier.

Yunnan issued 1st batch of rare earth, tungsten mining output quotas for 2020I

SHANGHAI, May 7 (SMM) – Southwest China's Yunnan province has unveiled detailed allocation of its first batch of rare earth and tungsten mining output quotas for this year. According to a circular issued by the province’s Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday, Yunnan issued 2,615 mt of mining quotas for tungsten concentrate and 12 mt for rare earth in the first batch for 2020. Meanwhile, the province reserved 310 mt of mining quotas and 375 mt of comprehensive utilisation quotas for tungsten concentrate, and 63 mt of mining quotas for rare earth for annual adjustment. Yunnan’s allocation came about three months after central authorities issued first-half 2020 rare earth and tungsten mining output quotas for the country.

In February, China’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued a circular saying up to 66,000 mt of rare earth and 52,500 mt of tungsten concentrate would be allowed to be digged out across the country in the first batch of mining quotas for 2020.

This batch of quotas for the country accounted for 50% of last year's allocation, and the second batch is expected to be announced in the second quarter.

China rare earth exports rose to highest since at least 2014 in March

SHANGHAI, Apr 14 (SMM) – China exported 5,551 mt of rare earths in March, the highest monthly level since at least 2014, showed data from the General Administration of Customs released on Tuesday.  Exports in the first three months this year totalled 11,041 mt, down 2.3% from the same period a year earlier.

China’s installed power battery capacity soared 363% in MarchData Analysis10:47PMApr 

SHANGHAI, Apr 13 (SMM) – China's installed capacity of batteries to power electric vehicles surged 363.2% in March from the month before to 2.86GWh, showed data from the China Automobile Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance (CAPBIIA), suggesting the country’s EV sector is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic outbreak. Data published by the (CAPBIIA) on Friday also revealed that China’s installed power battery capacity in March was 45.6% lower than the same month of 2019, continuing year-on-year declines posted each month since July last year when a substantial cut to NEV subsidies came into force. Installed power battery capacity plummeted 73.4% year on year to 0.6GWh in February. The loading volume of ternary batteries jumped 326.8% month on month but fell 42.9% year on year to 2.2GWh last month, while that of lithium iron phosphate or LFP batteries declined 49.4% on year to 0.5GWh, but posted a 598.1% surge from February. In the first three months of 2020, China's installed capacity of batteries to power EVs totalled 5.7GWh, down 53.8% from the same period of 2019. Ternary batteries accounted for 4.3GWh, or 76.1% of the total, down 53% year on year, while LFP batteries took up 1.3GWh, or 23.5%, down 52.3% year on year.

Rare earth prices to strengthen on demand recovery, supply tightness

SHANGHAI, Feb 24 (SMM) – SMM expects near-term prices of light rare earth to hold steady while prices of medium-to-heavy rare earth will see further upward potential this week, on the back of limited supplies and gradual recovery of logistics and downstream production after weeks of stoppage due to the coronavirus outbreak.  Prices of most rare earth products increased in the week ended February 21. A slight pickup in downstream demand pulled up prices of light rare earth last week, with the average prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide rising to a two-month high of 286,500 yuan/mt on February 19. Prices of neodymium oxide outperformed that of praseodymium-neodymium oxide due to relatively tighter supply. As of Friday February 21, prices of neodymium oxide stood at 294,000-299,000 yuan/mt, compared with prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide at 284,000-287,000 yuan/mt, SMM assessed. 

The continued suspension of mineral imports from Myanmar, coupled with disrupted production in south China amid coronavirus impact weighed on the supply of medium-to-heavy rare earth products. Bullish prospects for prices drove sellers to hike offers of medium-to-heavy rare earth, with quotes of dysprosium oxide climbing to 1.79-1.82 million yuan/mt as of February 21, up 70,000 yuan/mt from a week ago. Trades occurred at prices around 1.8 million yuan/mt last week, SMM learned.  Prices of terbium oxide and terbium metal also increased significantly, with traded prices rising to as high as 3.9 million yuan/mt and 5 million yuan/mt last week. Enquires for medium-to-heavy rare earth were brisk. 

China issued first batch of rare earth, tungsten mining output quotas for 2020Industry 

SHANGHAI, Feb 19 (SMM) – China has unveiled the first batch of rare earth and tungsten mining output quotas for this year. This batch of quotas accounted for 50% of last year's allocation, and the second batch is expected to be announced in the second quarter. According to a circular jointly issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China issued 66,000 mt of mining quotas for rare earth and 52,500 mt for tungsten concentrate in the first batch for 2020. Of the total quotas for rare earth, 56,425 mt was allocated for light rare earths, with 9,575 mt for medium and heavy rare earth metals.

China Southern Rare Earth cut prices of terbium and dysprosium oxides

SHANGHAI, Feb 19 (SMM) – China Southern Rare Earth Group, one of the six, state-owned rare earth mining groups in China, on Monday issued its latest quotas for medium-to-heavy rare earth oxides.

It set listed price for terbium oxide at 3.75 million yuan/mt, down 150,000 yuan/mt from January 13, while the price for dysprosium oxide was cut by 100,000 yuan/mt to 1.8 million yuan/mt. The company’s listed prices for gadolinium, erbium and holmium oxides, meanwhile, rose. The price for gadolinium oxide increased 2,000 yuan/mt to 163,000 yuan/mt, with erbium oxide up 5,000 yuan/mt to 155,000 yuan/mt, and holmium oxide up 24,000 yuan/mt to 330,000 yuan/mt. Listed prices for other medium and heavy rare earth oxides, including samarium, europium, erbium, ytterbium, lutetium, yttrium and scandium oxides, were unchanged from January 13. On February 17, samarium oxide was priced at 12,000 yuan/mt, europium oxide was at 220,000 yuan/mt, erbium oxide was at 150,000 yuan/mt, ytterbium oxide was at 100,000 yuan/mt, lutetium oxide was at 4.25 million yuan/mt, yttrium oxide was at 20,000 yuan/mt, and scandium oxide was at 9 million yuan/mt.

Update: China January NEV production dropped 52.3% from a year ago

SHANGHAI, Feb 17 (SMM) - China’s production of new energy vehicles dropped in the first month of 2020, as producers shut or trimmed output due to the Lunar New Year holiday and continued market weakness

Car sales in China to fall 18% year on year in January, CAAM expects

SHANGHAI, Feb 13 (SMM) – Sales of automobile in China are expected to decline 18% year on year to 1.94 million mt in January, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). This would be down 27% from December 2019. CAAM data also showed that sales of new energy vehicles are estimated to fall 54.4% from the same month a year earlier to 44,000 units in January. The industry association said the recent epidemic outbreak is likely to wreak havoc on auto sales and production in China in the short term and warned that the outbreak does not account for January’s drop.

There were 17 working days in January due to the Lunar New Year holiday, five days fewer than January 2019, which led to the year-over-year drop in auto sales.

China rare earth magnets production maintained stable growth in 2019

SHANGHAI, Jan 22 (SMM) – Production of rare earth magnetic materials in China maintained stable growth last year, according to data from the Association of China Rare Earth Industry.

Output of sintered NdFeB grew 9.7% to 170,000 mt in 2019, while that of bonded NdFeB expanded 5% to 7,900 mt. Production of SmCo magnets grew 4% to 2,400 mt.

China car sales declined 8.2% in 2019

SHANGHAI, Jan 13 (SMM) – China’s automobile sales dropped 8.2% in 2019 to 25.77 million units, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Monday. Passenger vehicles accounted for 21.44 million units, shrinking 9.6% year on year. In 2018, automobile sales in China declined 2.8%, marking the first contraction since the 1990s. CAAM data also revealed that sales of new energy vehicles in China slipped for the first time since the government began to vigorously promote clean energy vehicles about a decade ago, due to macroeconomic pressure and a significant cut in subsidies. NEV sales shrank 4% in 2019 to 1.21 million units. The industry ministry said over the weekend that China will not make significant cuts to subsidies for NEVs this year, which reassured carmakers.

CPCA: China NEV sales growth sharply slowed to 5.1% in 2019  

SHANGHAI, Jan 10 (SMM) – China’s new energy vehicle sales grew sharply slower in 2019, as Beijing slashed subsidies, trying to wean the sector off government support. The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Thursday that 1.06 million new energy passenger vehicles were sold in China in 2019 in terms of wholesale volume, up 5.1% from 2018. This marked a substantial deceleration from 2018, when sales jumped 88.5% to 1.01 million units. In December 2019, wholesale sales of NEPVs in China surged 73.5% from November to 135,700 units. On a year-over-year basis, the sales declined 15.1% last month.

China's production of qualified passenger NEVs up 24% in November 

SHANGHAI, Dec 30 (SMM) – About 89,000 new energy passenger vehicles produced last month in China obtained qualification certificates, down for the fifth consecutive month on a yearly basis, by 41.63%, but 23.96% higher from a month ago, lifted by outstanding performance of the pure EV market, showed data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Production of pure EVs that obtained qualification certificates rose 29.3% month on month in November, with the output of Bestune’s B30EV400 model soaring 235.44%. Sales pf passenger NEVs, meanwhile, registered year-on-year declines for a fifth straight month in November. According to SMM database, about 82,000 NEVs obtained qualification certificates in China in October, up 8.5% from a month ago. New energy passenger vehicles accounted for the greatest share of 86.8%, while new energy busses took up the smallest 3.7%. Production of NEVs with qualification certificates stood at 913,000 units in January-September. 

China NEV production dropped 41% YoY in November

SHANGHAI, Dec 17 (SMM) – China produced 95,000 new energy vehicles last month, up 11.8% from a month ago but down 41% from a year ago, showed SMM calculations based on data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released Monday. NEV production in January to November amounted to 1.05 million units, up 3.6% from the same period last year. NBS data also showed China’s overall production of automobiles stood at 2.61 million units, up 3.7% from the corresponding month of 2018, marking the first increase since July 2018. Auto production, however, is still on track for a second straight year of contraction. For the first 11 months of 2019, production of automobiles totalled 22.86 million units, down 9.6% year on year.

Myanmar has banned rare earth exports to China

SHANGHAI, Dec 16 (SMM) – Myanmar has closed the border to China to suspend rare earth ore exports to the top rare earth processor, in view of the environmental damage and conflicts caused by Chinese miners’ unregulated operations, SMM learned. The border will remain closed until mining operations are rectified, which grows concerns about supply of ion-type rare earth ores, feedstock for medium-to-heavy rare earth products. This is set to boost prices of medium-to-heavy rare earth products significantly in the new year, when demand recovers from year-end cash flow pressure. SMM assessed terbium oxide at 3,495 yuan/kg as of December 16, up 70 yuan/kg from the end of November. The price of dysprosium oxide rose 100 yuan/mt during the same period to 1,730 yuan/kg. Myanmar’s latest move came after China in late September reopened the Tengchong Yunnan/Myanmar port, which has been the main boarder crossing point for rare earth ores and concentrates to end a four-month closure. The previous ban on imports of rare earth ores to China through the Tengchong Yunnan/Myanmar port, starting from the middle of May after a six-month winding-down period agreed in late 2018, led to a jump in prices of medium-to-heavy rare earth products.

In June, prices of terbium oxide peaked 4,225 yuan/mt, up about 45% from lows seen at the start of the year, while prices of dysprosium oxide climbed more than 70% to a high of 2,000 yuan/kg. China set its annual rare-earth mining quota in November, indicating an increase for light rare earths but no change to the quota for ion-type ores. 

China rare earth exports dropped 27.6% in November

SHANGHAI, Dec 9 (SMM) – China exported 2,635.8 mt of rare earths in November, down 27.6% from a month ago and 42.8% from a year ago, showed data from the General Administration of Customs on Sunday. November’s exports figure was the lowest since the world’s largest rare earth producer got embroiled in a bruising trade war with the US in early 2018. For the first 11 months of 2019, China’s rare earth exports amounted to 42,673 mt, down 10.4% from the same period last year.

NBS: China NEV production dropped 39.7% YoY in Oct

SHANGHAI, Nov 14 (SMM) – China’s production of new energy vehicles stood at 85,000 units in October, down 39.7% from a year ago and 9.6% from a month ago, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on November 14. NEV production in January-October amounted to 961,000 units, up 11.5% from the same period last year. NBS data also showed that China produced 2.28 million automobiles, down 2.1% from October 2018. For the first 10 months of 2019, production of automobiles totalled 20.29 million units, down 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. 

China installed EV battery capacity dropped 31.4% YoY in Oct

SHANGHAI, Nov 13 (SMM) – China saw 4.1 GWh of batteries installed to power cars in October, down 31.4% from a year ago but up 3.1% from a month ago, said the China Automotive Battery Industry Innovation Alliance on Monday November 11. Ternary batteries accounted for 2.9 GWh, down 26% year on year, while capacity of installed lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries declined 41.7% during the same period but grew 12% from September to 1.1 GWh. For the first 10 months of 2019, installed power batteries amounted to 46.2 GWh, up 33.2% from the same period last year, with ternary batteries taking up 32 GWh or 69.2%. Capacity of installed ternary batteries in January-October rose 52.4% year on year, and that of LFP batteries inched up 1.2% to 13 GWh. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) released on the same day showed that China’s production of new energy vehicles dropped 35.4% from a year ago to 95,000 units in October, marking a fourth straight month of decline. NEV production in January-October stood at 983,000 units, up 11.7% from the same period last year.

China’s NEV sales fell 45.6% YoY in Oct: CAAM

SHANGHAI, Nov 11 (SMM) – China’s sales of new energy vehicles declined 45.6% from a year ago to 75,000 units in October, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) said on Monday November 11.

This marked the fourth straight month of decline in NEV sales in China, and came in line with a drop of 45.4% reported by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) last week. Data from the CAAM also showed that sales of passenger vehicles in China declined 5.8% year on year to 1.93 million units last month.

China rare earth exports rose 2% in Oct        

SHANGHAI, Nov 8 (SMM) – China’s exports of rare earths rose 1.91% from September to 3,639.2 mt in October, after shrinking for two months in a row, showed data from the General Administration of Customs on Friday November 8. For the first 10 months of 2019, rare earths exports amounted to 40,037.2, down 7.1% from the same period a year earlier.

Exclusive: Ratio of recycled metals from EV batteries to reach 70% by 2025

SHANGHAI, Nov 4 (SMM) – Metals recycled from electric vehicle batteries (EV batteries) will reach 70% of the amount of metals required by such batteries in 2025, said Hong Xiaoshu, sales director, Shanghai Utop Chemical Technology. "This is a significant increase from 8% in 2018, when EV batteries were first recycled in the market", Hong added, citing the anticipation of strong EV market growth. In an exclusive interview with SMM, Hong believed that recycled metals such as nickel, cobalt, lithium and manganese from EV batteries will be a source of industrial metals of great potential, as the global auto market are switching to electrical substitutes. Currently, there are around 3.5 million new energy vehicles in China, with EVs taking the lion’s share, accounting for 1.5% of the Chinese auto market. Utop Chemical, established in 2015, engages in the R&D, production and sales of solvent, lubricant and hi-tech industrial materials, which plays a part in metals recycling, as solvent extraction is an important step in the nonferrous metals recycling process. 

China rare earth exports shrink for 2 months

SHANGHAI, Oct 14 (SMM) – China’s exports of rare earths fell in September for a second straight month, declining 17.9% from 4,352 mt in August to 3,571 mt, showed data from the General Administration of Customs on Monday October 14. For the first nine months of 2019, rare earths exports amounted to 36,398 mt, down 9% from the same period a year earlier.

2019 China Rare Earth Forum: Tighter supply, demand recovery to bolster rare earth prices in Sep-Dec 

SHENZHEN, Sep 23 (SMM) – Prices of rare-earth products are likely to climb in the remainder of this year, in anticipation of stockpiling for strategic reserves by Beijing as well as tighter supplies and demand improvement, said Li Ziyan, senior rare earth analyst at SMM. The price growth is expected to be steady, Li told delegates at the 2019 forum on the development of China’s rare earth and permanent magnet industry held by SMM in Shenzhen on Monday September 23, as market participants will be more rational after sharp price gains in the first half of 2019. A fall in ore supply from Myanmar following a ban on imports that took effect in May will help lift prices of medium and heavy rare earths, as mixed rare earth carbonate is the feedstock for producing medium and heavy rare-earth oxides. Customs data showed that mixed rare earth carbonate accounted for 73.77% of China’s rare earth imports in June-July, compared with a ratio of 92.32% in January-May. For light rare-earth oxides, supply will tighten as a slew of smelting and separation plants have been required to suspend after excessive production in the first half of the year. Li also said that the role as a strategic resource, Chinese government’s crackdown on the black market and protracted trade conflict with Washington will remain supportive of rare earth prices. SMM assessed prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide at 322,500 yuan/mt as of Monday September 23, and prices of neodymium oxide at 324,500 yuan/mt. Prices of dysprosium oxide stood at 1.89 million yuan/mt as of September 23, with those of terbium oxide at 3.9 million yuan/mt, showed SMM assessments.

China Minmetals buys antimony, rare earth stocks of Fanya exchange for 780 million yuan

SHANGHAI, Sep 2 (SMM) – The rare earths unit of state-owned China Minmetals on Sunday September 1 paid about 780 million yuan for antimony, dysprosium and terbium oxides inventories formerly held by the now-defunct Fanya Metal Exchange in online auctions. China Minmetals Rare Earth, as the sole bidder, bought three lots of the minor metal, rare-earth oxides for starting prices set by the Kunming Intermediate People’s Court, according to the e-commerce site that hosted the 24-hour auctions. The prices are far below current market value. The auction of about 18,661 mt of antimony was purchased at 29,300 yuan/mt, while the company secured the lots of 148.75 mt of dysprosium oxide at 1.49 million yuan/mt and 4.05 mt of terbium oxide at 3.16 million yuan/mt. SMM assessments showed that the spot price of 1# antimony stood at 36,500 yuan/mt as of Monday September 2, with that for dysprosium oxide at 1.91 million yuan/mt and that for terbium oxide 3.925 million yuan/mt.  

China to slash resource tax on rare earth from Sep 2020 

SHANGHAI, Aug 29 (SMM) – Medium, heavy rare earth miners in China will pay less in resource tax from September 1 next year, when the country’s new resource tax law is scheduled to go into effect.

The new tax rate comes in at 20% for processed medium and heavy rare-earth ore, down from the current 27%. For light rare earth, the rates would be 7-12%, while now are 11.5% in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 9.5% in Sichuan Province, and 7.5% in Shandong. China's top legislature on August 26 voted to adopt the new resource tax law at the closing meeting of a five-day bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

China announces 20 measures to boost consumption 

SHANGHAI, Aug 28 (SMM) – China's central government has stepped up efforts to boost domestic demand and support the economy as it announced on Tuesday August 27 a slew of stimulus measures targeting the car, electronic markets, e-commerce, as well as infrastructure projects.  According to the Opinions on Accelerating Circulation and Promoting Commercial Consumption that outlined 20 measures, local government should relax of lift restrictions on car purchases and encourage people to buy new energy vehicles. Efforts should also be made to promote the recycling of used electronic products, support the transition of traditional department stores into commercial complexes, and improve infrastructure of commercial streets, the guideline said.

Northern rare earths: the prices of praseodymium, neodymium and neodymium announced in August have been reduced.

SHANGHAI, Aug 12 (SMM) - Northern China rare Earth (Group) High Technology Co., Ltd. released the listing price of rare earth products in August, lanthanum oxide and ceria prices are relatively stable, maintained at 13000 yuan / ton. The prices of praseodymium neodymium oxide, praseodymium neodymium oxide and neodymium oxide were significantly lower than those in July. The prices of praseodymium neodymium oxide and neodymium oxide were reduced by 5.5% and 5.6%, respectively, and the prices of praseodymium neodymium and neodymium metal were reduced by 6.7%.

Rare earth prices rally on potential commercial stockpiling 

SHANGHAI, Aug 5 (SMM) – Prices of spot, mainstream rare-earth products rallied last week, as expectations that Beijing will begin stockpiling for strategic reserves grew after a meeting in the prior week. Prices of praseodymium-neodymium oxide rose from 287,000-292,000 yuan/mt on July 26 to 293,000-298,000 yuan/mt as of Friday August 2, with those of neodymium oxide climbing to 295,000-300,000 yuan/mt, showed SMM assessments. Prices of dysprosium oxide advanced to 1.89-1.92 million yuan/mt, while those of terbium oxide increased to 3.93-3.95 million yuan/mt. Prices of gadolinium oxide rose to 165,000-170,000 yuan/mt. The re-escalation of the trade tensions between the US and China also gave a boost to the sector. Rare earth-related stocks rose sharply on Friday, and rare earth spot sellers hiked their offers after a surprise tariff threat from US President Donald Trump. Some traders expected further upside in prices of medium, heavy rare-earth products, and dysprosium oxide to rebound to around 2 million yuan/mt in the short term. Most magnet producers, major consumers of rare-earth products, continued their on-demand procurement as a low season grinds on. Data from China Customs showed that a total of 661 mt of mixed rare-earth carbonate were imported to China in June, down 75.9% year on year. Malaysia and Indonesia were the major exporters, while no Myanmar materials entered China. Domestic production of rare-earth carbonate, meanwhile, remained low as the crackdown on the black market continued. Raw materials supplies for medium, heavy rare-earth products are expected to remain tight in the long term, which will buoy prices.

China rare earths exports rise for 2nd month in Jul

SHANGHAI, Aug 8 (SMM) – China’s exports of rare earths rose for a second straight month in July, expanding 32.2% from June to 5,243.4 mt, showed data from China Customs released on August 8. This brought exports in the first seven months of the year to 28,475.6 mt, with a year-over-year decline of 7.3%.  

China’s NEV production sees 1st year-on-year decline in Jul 

SHANGHAI, Aug 7 (SMM) – About 73,500 new energy vehicles obtained qualification certificates in China in July, showed SMM data. This was down 43% from a month ago and 18.3% from a year ago, marking the first year-over-year decline since the NEV sector emerged a few years ago. Installed power battery capacity also shrank last month, declining 29% month on month and 26.9% year on year to 4.69GWh. After a rapid expansion in the first half of the year, China’s NEV sector hit a trough in July, which is the first full month since the new NEV subsidy scheme and vehicle emission standards took effect.   The shift to the new emission standards prompted a rush to clear existing inventories of diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles and slowed overall automobile production. Production of electric passenger vehicles dropped 55.8% month on month to 43,300 units in July, while that of electric buses more than doubled to 12,800 units. Lower subsidies and cash flow pressure, meanwhile, drove NEV makers to prioritize cost concerns, and favor lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Installed LFP batteries came in at 2.48GWh last month, taking up 52.9% of the total. The ratio climbed 27 percentage points from June, and exceeded that for ternary batteries for the first time this year. There was a brief supply shortage of LFP batteries, while excessive capacity dragged on prices of ternary batteries close to those of LFP batteries. Aside from costs, higher security also helped LFP batteries to outperform ternary ones. Some automakers are expected to launch new models in August, while the vehicle production and battery installation rush is set to revive at the end of the year as the government subsidies will be completely withdrawn in 2020. The NEV and battery markets are expected to pick up at the end of September, as some producers are still clearing inventories in August. In July, Chinese battery maker CATL remained the largest battery supplier, with a market share of 66.5% in terms of battery installation. It’s worth nothing that batteries produced by South Korea’s LG’s plant in Nanjing were installed in Dongfeng Renault’s electric passenger vehicles for trial run last month, suggesting the start of the competition among global battery suppliers.