Home | Metal Prices | Monthly Rare Earths MMI® Falls 7.1% to 39
Monthly Rare Earths MMI® Falls 7.1% to 39
by MetalMiner IndX Reports on May 9, 2013
Metal Prices, Premium
The story behind this month's rare earth metal price index follows on last month's reading (which held flat). The monthly Rare Earths MMI® dropped three points to 39 in May, a decrease of 7.1 percent from 42 in April.
"The headline number dropped on the back of three metals weighted heavily in the monthly MMI series – terbium oxide, europium oxide and dysprosium oxide," said Lisa Reisman, managing editor of MetalMiner.
"But it would appear foolish to say that the entire complex has dropped," she continued. "In fact, eight metals actually increased in price, one held steady and five dropped."
The elements that increased in price include yttrium, yttria, terbium metal, samarium oxide, praseodymium oxide, neodymium oxide, neodymium and lanthanum oxide. These price increases indicate to us that some of the policies initiated by the Chinese government may have begun to show price support for certain elements.
However, the overall complex, ending up at 39 this month, remains the worst performing of any of the MetalMiner MMI series.
Key Price Drivers
A 17.3 percent decline for dysprosium oxide left the price at CNY 1,675 ($271.59) per kilogram. Following a 17.3 percent decline in price, europium oxide finished the month at $737.75 per kilogram. After falling 9.0 percent, terbium oxide finished the month at $575.61 per kilogram. After rising the previous month, praseodymium neodymium oxide prices dropped 6.5 percent to $46,616 per metric ton. At $5,918 per metric ton, cerium oxide was down 6.4 percent for the month.
Prices for neodymium remained constant this past month, holding at around $68,911 per metric ton. At a price of $52,696 per metric ton, neodymium oxide did not budge the entire month. Samarium oxide traded sideways last month, staying around $7,702 per metric ton. Praseodymium oxide experienced a flat month, staying around $59,587 per metric ton. The price of lanthanum oxide held steady around $5,513 per metric ton last month. Last month was consistent for yttria, which did not move from $14,187 per metric ton. Yttrium held pat last month at $64.86 per kilogram. Hovering around $1,273 per kilogram for the month, terbium metal remained unchanged. Prices for rare earth carbonate remained constant this past month, holding at around $4,459 per metric ton.
The Rare Earths MMI® collects and weights 14 global rare earth metal price points to provide a unique view into rare earth metal price trends over a 30-day period. For more information on the Rare Earths MMI®, how it's calculated or how your company can use the index, please drop us a note at: info (at) agmetalminer (dot) com.
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