As optical glasses industry keeps flat, high purity lanthanum oxide 99.999% demand remains soft and the prices drop a bit to RMB95,000-100,000/t (USD15,210-16,010/t) at present.

A source from a separation plant in South China disclosed that lanthanum oxide 99.999% market suffers from slow buying activities due to wait-and-see attitudes of buyers. The plant quotes RMB100,000/t (USD16,010/t) for the material at the moment, down by around RMB2,000/kg (USD320/t) compared with that of last week. “Lanthanum oxide 99.999% inquiries are few and buyers are not interested in rebuilding stocks,” said the source.

The plant produces around 30 tons of lanthanum oxide 99.999% per month and hasn’t concluded transactions so far this week. The source said that lanthanum oxide 99.999% prices will fall slightly in the coming weeks.

A source from a optical glasses producer in South China also noted that they have no plan to rebuild lanthanum oxide 99.999% inventories for the time being due to soft demand from end users. “Optical glasses market is silent, which leads us to be in no hurry to buy rare earth raw material,” said the source. “We can procure lanthanum oxide 99.999% at prices a bit lower than RMB95,000/t (USD15,210/t), however, we prefer to watch the market for a while.”

According to the source, the plant used to produce 20-30 tons of lanthanum oxide 99.999% per month and it has reduced production due to weak demand. 

Terbium oxide 99.99% market sees stagnant purchasing activities as end users from phosphor powder industry delay purchasing further. Meanwhile, most suppliers hold wait-and-see attitudes towards the market in the near term.

A source from a separation plant in South China shared that terbium oxide 99.99% inquiries keep rare in the terbium oxide spot market. “We quote Terbium oxide at RMB4,500/kg (USD722/kg) at present, unchanged from that of last week,” said the source. “We think terbium oxide 99.99% market is hard to pick up this year.”

“I heard that some suppliers are willing to sell the material at RMB4,300/kg (USD690/kg) for the time being,” added the source, revealing that the plant produces around 2 tons of terbium oxide 99.99% per month.

A source from another separation plant in South China also noted that most plants don’t want to reduce terbium oxide 99.99% prices, which could be lower than RMB4,500/kg (USD722/kg) at the moment. “Phosphor powder industry fails to revive, which leads transactions to remain rare in the Terbium oxide spot market,” said the source. “However, as we stopped the production activities, we prefer to watch the market further.”

“I concluded a small deal at RMB4,500/kg (USD722/kg) with a regular client a few days ago,” added the source, revealing that the plant produces around 3 tons of terbium oxide 99.99% per month. 

Lacking demand from end users, yttrium oxide 99.999% suppliers sees few transactions further. 

A source from a separation plant in South China expressed that yttrium oxide 99.999% demand keeps slack in both domestic and export markets. “yttrium oxide price goes to RMB120,000/t (USD19,212/t) and USD30/kg FOB China respectively for domestic and overseas buyers now, down a bit compared with those of last week,” said the source. 

Plagued by a grim economic outlook and weakened demand, neodymium oxide market continues to see rare deals and softening prices.

A source from a separation plant in South China claimed that slow demand continues to generate downwards pressure on neodymium oxide price. “We make an offer of RMB390,000/t (USD62,595/t) for the material now, down slightly compared with that of last week,” said the source. “Consumers still delay purchasing so the inquiries keep rare in the neodymium oxide spot market.”

The plant used to produce 30 tons of neodymium oxide per month. According to the source, neodymium oxide suppliers  failed to conclude deals last week.

A source from a separation plant in South China also expressed that neodymium oxide market shows no signs of rebounding with mainstream offers hovering at RMB380,000-400,000/t (USD60,990-64,200/t) at present. “Consumers have no intention to rebuild neodymium oxide stocks, which leads us to be under pressure to conclude deals,” said the source. “What’s worse, I heard that some traders even quote RMB350,000/t (USD56,175/t) for neodymium oxide price now in order to win orders”.

“The last small deal was concluded at RMB380,000/t(USD60,990/t) with a regular client last week,” added the source, revealing that the plant produces around 40 tons of neodymium oxide per month.