On the evening of April 10, Northern Rare Earth (600111.SH) and Baogang Steel (600010.SH) simultaneously issued announcements stating that The price for related-party transactions of rare earth concentrate in the second quarter of 2026 has been raised to RMB 38,804 per ton (excluding tax, dry weight, REO=50%), a significant increase of RMB 11,970 per ton from the first quarter’s price of RMB 26,834 per ton, representing a quarter-on-quarter surge of 44.61%.

The unified price adjustment mechanism for rare earth concentrates between Northern Rare Earth and Baogang Steel Co., Ltd. took effect on April 1, 2023. The two parties agreed to recalculate the transaction price based on a rare earth concentrate pricing formula in the first half of the first month of each quarter. According to statistics compiled by The Paper, this latest price adjustment marks the largest single-quarter increase since the pricing mechanism reform in 2023 and represents the seventh consecutive quarterly price hike since the fourth quarter of 2024.

Looking back at market trends over the past two years, rare earth concentrate prices hit a temporary low of RMB16,741 per ton in the third quarter of 2024. In the fourth quarter of 2024, prices bottomed out and rebounded to RMB 17,782 per ton, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 6.22%, marking an initial reversal of the market’s downward trend. Entering 2025, prices showed a steady upward trend, with the fourth quarter seeing the first significant surge, breaking through the 26,000-yuan-per-ton threshold—a quarterly increase of 37.13%—as a tight supply-demand balance began to emerge.

As of the latest pricing, rare earth concentrate prices have risen by RMB 22,063 per ton since the third-quarter low of 2024, marking a surge of 131.79%—effectively doubling in just one and a half years.

From a supply-demand perspective, multiple drivers underpin this round of rare earth price increases. On the supply side, the growth rate of domestic rare earth mining quotas has slowed, and the supply of imported ore has tightened. On the demand side, sustained growth in sectors such as new energy vehicles, wind power, and robotics has collectively driven rare earth prices upward.

Additionally, over the past two weeks, praseodymium-neodymium oxide rose 6.32% to RMB757,500 per ton, dysprosium oxide fell 1.44% to RMB1.37 million per ton, and terbium oxide rose 0.08% to RMB6.085 million per ton. On the supply side, supported by policy factors and tight supply conditions, the spot supply of praseodymium-neodymium oxide remains scarce, and upstream holders are reluctant to sell at low prices. On the demand side, downstream magnet manufacturers have weak order volumes and low purchasing interest, resulting in generally sluggish trading activity.

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