Last updated: 3 September 2026 · Updated monthly · Source: Shanghai Metals Market (SMM)
- The dysprosium price stands at $239.12/kg on the Chinese industrial spot market, up 3.36% month-on-month.
- This is a partial rebound after August’s sharp 11.6% pullback, though the price remains below July’s 2026 high of $261.63/kg.
- Dysprosium and terbium diverged this month — terbium was essentially flat while dysprosium rose, breaking the pattern of the two moving together seen in August.
- China’s export licensing suspension on dysprosium, dating to April 2025 controls, expires in November 2026 — the single largest variable in the current price outlook.
- NdFeB magnet demand from EV drivetrains, wind turbines, and defence applications remains the dominant structural driver.
The dysprosium price stands at $239.12/kg on the Chinese industrial spot market (Dy Metal, 99.0% min, VAT excluded, SMM assessed 3 September 2026), up 3.36% from $231.35/kg at the August benchmark. This is a partial rebound following August’s 11.6% pullback, which had itself reversed a meaningful portion of July’s sharp 25.4% rally. The price remains below July’s 2026 high, but has now stabilised somewhat after two months of large swings in opposite directions. Retail physical investment pricing continues to carry a substantial premium above the industrial benchmark, reflecting dealer acquisition, storage, and liquidity costs.
Current Dysprosium Price
Industrial Market (Chinese Benchmark — SMM)
| Product | Dysprosium Price | Daily Range | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dy Metal (99.0% min, VAT excl.) | $239.12/kg | $237.81–$240.44 | SMM, 3 Sep 2026 |
| Dy Metal (99.5%, indicative) | ~$241–$252/kg | — | Indicative est. |
SMM is the primary benchmark for industrial dysprosium price transactions. Prices are assessed daily for deliveries to works in China, VAT excluded, conforming to GB/T 13558-2019.
Retail / Private Investor Market
| Product | Dysprosium Price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Dysprosium (retail, 99.5%) | Contact dealer for current rate | Strategic Metals Invest |
Why the gap? Industrial buyers — magnet manufacturers and OEMs — transact in volume directly with Chinese processors at SMM-referenced dysprosium prices. Retail physical investment prices carry dealer acquisition, storage, insurance, and liquidity premiums that can push the effective dysprosium price 3–5× above Chinese industrial benchmarks. Neither price is “wrong”; they reflect entirely different markets and buyer profiles.
Dysprosium Price History
| Date | Dysprosium Price (Industrial, SMM, VAT excl.) | Key Driver |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Sep 2026 | $239.12/kg | Partial rebound; +3.36% month-on-month after August’s pullback |
| 3 Aug 2026 | $231.35/kg | Pullback; -11.6% month-on-month, reversing part of July’s rebound |
| 1 Jul 2026 | $261.63/kg | Sharp rebound; +25.4% month-on-month, new 2026 high |
| 1 Jun 2026 | $208.68/kg | Domestic demand softening; -5.5% month-on-month |
| 1 May 2026 | $220.93/kg | Steady; range $221.79–$224.37 through April |
| 1 Apr 2026 | $220.93/kg | Continued supply tightness; +15.6% month-on-month |
| 1 Mar 2026 | $191.08/kg | Supply tightness; sustained magnet demand |
| Feb 2026 | ~$150–$170/kg (est.) | Export quota uncertainty; OEM precautionary buying |
| Jan 2026 | ~$90–$95/kg (est.) | Post-holiday restocking begins |
Long-Run Retail Dysprosium Price Series
SMM historical data requires a paid subscription. The retail price series below (Strategic Metals Invest) provides a consistent long-run directional benchmark. Directional trends are comparable across series; absolute levels are not directly equivalent to industrial spot prices.
| Date | Retail Dysprosium Price ($/kg) | Annual Change |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | $453.90 | — |
| Jan 2025 | $353.10 | +28.6% |
| Jan 2024 | $587.40 | −40.5% |
| Jan 2023 | $653.40 | −10.1% |
| Jan 2022 | $769.60 | −15.1% |
| Jan 2021 | $411.10 | +87.2% |
| Jan 2020 | $345.24 | +19.1% |
| Jan 2019 | $238.14 | +44.9% |
| Jan 2018 | $238.14 | 0% |
The 2024 drawdown (−40.5%) reflects demand softening and inventory destocking by Chinese magnet producers, sourced from the Strategic Metals Invest retail benchmark. The 2026 rebound reflects Chinese export control policy shifts, renewed EV-driven magnet demand, and precautionary Western buying.
What Is Driving the Dysprosium Price
The dysprosium price is primarily set by demand from sintered NdFeB (neodymium-iron-boron) permanent magnets. Adding 1–4% Dy by weight significantly raises coercivity — the magnet’s resistance to demagnetisation at elevated operating temperatures — from around 80°C to over 200°C. This property is critical for three major end-use markets: EV traction motors in battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles require high-coercivity magnets to perform across real-world temperature ranges, with global EV sales forecast at 22.9 million units in 2026, a 28% year-on-year increase. Direct-drive offshore wind turbine generators use permanent magnet designs containing dysprosium-doped NdFeB magnets, with each unit requiring hundreds of kilograms of magnet material. Defence and aerospace applications — precision guidance systems, radar arrays, and actuators in advanced weapons platforms — require military-grade temperature-stable magnets, and the US Department of Defense lists dysprosium as a critical material.
Grain Boundary Diffusion (GBD) processing — now widely adopted by leading Japanese and Chinese magnet manufacturers — can reduce dysprosium loading per magnet by approximately 30% without sacrificing heat resistance, acting as a structural ceiling on demand growth per unit of EV output.
China accounts for approximately 85–90% of global dysprosium production, concentrated in ionic adsorption clay deposits in Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Fujian provinces. In April 2025, Beijing imposed export licensing requirements on seven heavy rare earths including dysprosium, causing European dysprosium prices to nearly triple within weeks. A subsequent temporary suspension of the most restrictive measures has provided near-term supply relief, but the November 2026 expiry of that suspension is the single largest variable in the current dysprosium price outlook. A significant share of China’s heavy REE feedstock originates from Myanmar’s ionic clay mines, and intermittent border closures and mine disruptions there are a persistent secondary source of dysprosium price volatility.
Western Dysprosium Supply Development
Lynas Rare Earths has become the first company outside China to produce separated heavy rare earths commercially, though its Mount Weld deposit is light-REE dominant and HREE output remains marginal relative to global demand. Northern Minerals, at Browns Range in Western Australia, is specifically targeting dysprosium and terbium but remains pre-production at scale. Critical Metals Corp’s Tanbreez project in Greenland holds one of the world’s largest non-Chinese heavy REE deposits with significant dysprosium and terbium concentrations, though commercial production is not anticipated before 2029.
The US government is evaluating significant funding support for domestic rare earth mining and separation infrastructure, with processing capacity — not just mining — remaining the critical gap. Non-Chinese dysprosium supply is estimated at under 12% of global demand in 2026, a concentration unlikely to shift materially before the late 2020s. According to USGS Rare Earths Statistics, global rare earth reserves are geographically diverse, but the separation infrastructure required to convert ore into refined dysprosium metal remains heavily concentrated in China.
Dysprosium Price Outlook
The November 2026 expiry of China’s export control suspension remains the central inflection point for the dysprosium price. Analysts currently assign roughly 45% probability to controls being extended at status quo, which would likely stabilise the dysprosium price with moderate upside; roughly 30% probability to new restrictions being reimposed, which would likely produce a sharp price spike and severe supply crunch; and roughly 25% probability to controls being eased further, which would likely bring a price correction with a demand-driven floor holding beneath it. September’s rebound does not resolve which scenario the market is pricing toward — it is as consistent with pre-positioning ahead of November as it is with ordinary month-to-month volatility.
Medium-to-long-term, the base case has Dy₂O₃ rising toward approximately $1,100/kg by 2034, reflecting steady demand growth against constrained supply. A strategic decoupling case, in which Western supply chains apply strategic premiums above Chinese benchmarks to compensate for geopolitical risk, could see dysprosium pricing reach $1,400/kg by 2034. The global dysprosium market was valued at approximately $540 million in 2024 and is projected to reach $786 million by 2030 at a CAGR of 6.6% (Grand View Research), with longer-term projections pointing to $1.75 billion by 2035. Analyst consensus expects dysprosium consumption in magnet applications not to peak before the 2040s. All forecasts are analyst estimates subject to significant revision. The dysprosium price is highly sensitive to Chinese government policy. This is not investment advice.
Dysprosium vs Terbium
Dysprosium and terbium serve closely related functions in NdFeB magnets and are co-produced from the same ionic clay deposits. As of 3 September 2026, the terbium price stands at $1,097.08/kg domestic China, essentially flat this month — a clear divergence from dysprosium’s 3.36% rise, breaking August’s pattern where the two elements moved down together. Terbium’s higher absolute price reflects its greater scarcity: global production is estimated at only 300–400 tonnes per year versus 2,000+ tonnes for dysprosium. At current prices terbium trades at roughly 4.6 times the dysprosium price, down slightly from 4.7 times in August as dysprosium outpaced terbium this month. The two elements are tracked together by procurement teams and analysts as the heavy rare earth magnet pair.
Dysprosium Price Per Gram, Ounce and Pound
The conversion table below is calculated from the SMM dysprosium metal industrial benchmark and updated monthly.
| Unit | Dysprosium Price (SMM Industrial Benchmark) |
|---|---|
| Per kilogram | $239.12 |
| Per gram | $0.2391 |
| Per troy ounce | $7.69 |
| Per pound | $108.46 |
Dysprosium Price in GBP, EUR and Other Currencies
| Currency | Dysprosium Price Per Kilogram |
|---|---|
| USD (benchmark) | $239.12 |
| GBP (£) | £176.80 |
| EUR (€) | €205.68 |
| AUD (A$) | A$332.04 |
| JPY (¥) | ¥37,256 |
| CAD (C$) | C$329.83 |
Currency conversions are calculated from the SMM industrial benchmark using approximate exchange rates at the time of publication and are for reference only. For live rates, consult your preferred currency provider.
Industrial dysprosium price sourced from Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), assessed 3 September 2026. This page is updated on the first of each month. Neither price data nor analysis constitutes investment advice.
What is the dysprosium price today?
The dysprosium price is updated on the first of each month using Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) industrial benchmark data. The current figure shown on this page reflects the domestic China spot price for Dy Metal (99.0% min, VAT excluded) — the standard industrial reference for dysprosium pricing. Check the price table above for the latest monthly figure.
Why is there such a big difference between industrial and retail dysprosium prices?
Industrial buyers transact in volume directly with Chinese processors at SMM-assessed benchmark prices. Retail prices reflect the additional cost of sourcing, storing, insuring, and maintaining liquidity for small physical holdings, plus dealer margin. The gap between the two can be 3–5×. Neither price is inaccurate; they simply reflect different markets.
What is driving the dysprosium price in 2026?
The primary driver is China’s export licensing system for heavy rare earths, introduced in April 2025. Secondary drivers include accelerating EV and offshore wind demand for NdFeB magnets, precautionary Western buying, and Myanmar mine supply disruptions. The November 2026 expiry of China’s temporary suspension of the most restrictive measures is the key near-term variable.
Where is dysprosium mined?
Over 90% of global dysprosium production comes from ionic adsorption clay deposits in southern China — principally Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Fujian provinces. A significant share of feedstock also originates from Myanmar and is processed in China. Lynas Rare Earths is the only non-Chinese producer of separated heavy rare earths at commercial scale.
What is dysprosium used for?
Approximately 70–75% of dysprosium output goes into NdFeB permanent magnets for EV motors, wind turbine generators, robotics, and industrial motors. Additional applications include nuclear reactor control rods, defence and aerospace guidance systems, specialty lighting, and laser materials. It is classified as a critical raw material by the EU, US, and Japan.
How often is this dysprosium price page updated?
This page is updated on the first of each month using Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) industrial benchmark data. The price shown reflects the domestic China spot price excluding 13% VAT, which is the standard industrial reference for dysprosium pricing.
