China summoned key rare earth companies as product prices on rising roll. The authorities urged these companies to ensure stable supply to tame prices down.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a statement that it had instructed producers including China Rare Earth Group, China Northern Rare Earth Group and Shenghe Resources to regulate their operation and trading, and to prevent any market speculation or hoarding.
Chinese authorities urged these companies to take the front seat in promoting pricing mechanism of rare earth products and bring down price to reasonable level.
Prices of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used in electric vehicles (EVs) and military equipment, have surged since the second half of 2021 amid concerns of supply uncertainty from Myanmar and strong demand.
The Chinese price of praseodymium-neodymium alloy used to make super strong magnets for EV motors has powered 32% so far this year to 1.38 million yuan ($218,395.90) per tonne, accordion to Reuters.
Reuters also noted, a price index issued by the Association of China Rare Earth Industry stood at 429.4 on Friday, hovering around its record highs.
