Commodities | May 20 2015
By Greg Peel
US commercial nuclear plants purchased 53mlbs of U3O8 equivalent from domestic and foreign suppliers in 2014 at an average price of US$46.16/lb, according to the US Energy Information Agency's annual marketing report. Those numbers in 2013 were 57mlbs at an average of US$51.99/lb.
Only 6% of US purchases were supplied by US uranium producers. Of the balance, 39% came from Kazakhstan, Russia and Uzbekistan and 38% from Australian and Canadian domestic production, while the remaining 17% was split between several countries including Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Malawi, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, Ukraine and the UK.
In other market news, China's second largest nuclear plant operator, CNNP, has received government approval to list on the Shanghai stock exchange. CNNP is looking to raise some US$2.6bn in order to help China boost nuclear power generation and cut pollution.
The Japanese government's pro-nuclear stance has been vindicated by endorsement from a panel of experts who agree nuclear power remains the cheapest source of electricity within the country, despite the additional safety costs imposed on nuclear plants in the wake of Fukushima. In deference to public fears over nuclear safety, the Japanese government has wound back its targeted proportion of electricity supply from nuclear energy from a pre-Fukushima 30%. However it does plan to return to a level of 20-22% by 2030.
The first week of May saw a slight bounce in the price of spot uranium following its sharp fall at the end of April, as lower prices enticed a few utilities out of the woodwork. But renewed interest proved short-lived, industry consultant TradeTech reports, as activity in the market once again slowed last week.
Six transactions were conducted in the spot market totalling 700,000lbs of U3O8 equivalent, with prices slipping as the week progressed. TradeTech's weekly spot price indicator has fallen back US35c to US$35.65/lb, having risen US50c the week before.
There were three transactions conducted in the mid-term market last week, but only for small amounts. TradeTech's term price indicators remain unchanged at US$40.25/lb (mid) and US$49.00/lb (long).
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