en.Wedoany.com Reported - China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-Tech Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Northern Rare Earth", 600111.SH) issued an announcement on July 9, 2026, adjusting the transaction price of rare earth concentrate for the third quarter of 2026 to 38,565 yuan per ton (dry basis, REO=50%), a decrease of 239 yuan per ton from 38,804 yuan per ton in the second quarter, representing a decline of 0.6%. This marks the first quarter-on-quarter decrease in the related-party transaction price of rare earth concentrate between Northern Rare Earth and Baotou Steel since the third quarter of 2024, ending a streak of seven consecutive quarters of price increases.

Headquartered in Baotou City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Northern Rare Earth is one of the largest suppliers of rare earth products in China and globally, primarily engaged in the production and sale of rare earth concentrate, deep-processed rare earth products, and new rare earth materials. This price adjustment is based on the rare earth concentrate pricing formula implemented by the company since April 1, 2023, under which the company's management calculates and adjusts the price in the first ten days of each quarter based on the market prices of rare earth oxides in the previous quarter.

Rare earth concentrate is a core raw material for downstream rare earth permanent magnet materials, widely used in fields such as Vehicle Industry" target="_blank">new energy vehicles, wind power, consumer electronics, and national defense and military industries. The direct cause of this price reduction is the change in market prices of rare earth oxides in the second quarter of 2026. Notably, over the previous seven quarters, the price of rare earth concentrate rose steadily from 16,741 yuan per ton in the third quarter of 2024 to 38,804 yuan per ton in the second quarter of 2026, with a cumulative increase of over 130%. Among these, the second quarter of 2026 saw a quarter-on-quarter increase of 44.61%, the largest single-quarter rise during the seven-quarter rally.

Industry analysts believe that this slight reduction may alleviate some raw material cost pressure for midstream magnet manufacturers to a certain extent, but the core supply-demand dynamics of rare earths have not fundamentally changed, and rare earth prices are likely to remain volatile at high levels. From an industry fundamentals perspective, rare earth oxide prices continued to rise in the first half of 2026, with praseodymium neodymium oxide prices climbing to over 760,000 yuan per ton. Benefiting from both higher volumes and prices of rare earths, Northern Rare Earth achieved operating revenue of 11.859 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2026, a year-on-year increase of 27.69%; Shenghe Resources expects its net profit for the first half of 2026 to increase by 112% to 147% year-on-year.

This price adjustment represents the first correction after seven consecutive increases in rare earth concentrate prices, indicating that upstream rare earth prices have entered a phase of high-level consolidation. Downstream magnet manufacturers may see some relief in cost pressures, but the fundamental pattern of tight supply and demand has not yet changed.