Commodities | Dec 16 2008
By Andrew Nelson
One thing is for sure, nobody wants uranium for Christmas. Industry consultant TradeTech reports the uranium market was extremely quiet last week. In fact, so quite that no transactions were recorded and the group’s U3O8 Weekly Spot Price Indicator stayed put at $54.00.
While no new demand reported, the consultant notes a growing gap between willing buyers and willing sellers that will carry on into the new year. This gap is the result of mismatches in desired delivery timing on both sides, as well as delivery location and other considerations such as budget constraints and credit worthiness, reports TradeTech.
These various issues have caused activity in the spot market to pretty much dry up, with both buyers and sellers seemingly content to wait for any opportunities the New Year may present. There will be little activity next week, with TradeTech noting that bids are due Thursday to a non-US seller offering approximately 115,000 pounds U3O8 equivalent.
The long-term uranium market was also quiet last week, with no transactions or new demand reported. The U3O8 Long-Term Price Indicator stayed put at US$70.00/lb.
On the long-term horizon, the consultant notes that three US utilities are looking for 4.9 million pounds U3O8 equivalent for delivery between 2010 and 2018 and are currently evaluating offers. One non-US utility is reviewing offers for delivery of 1.8 million pounds U3O8 in 2009-2011 and another non-US utility is expected to enter the market in coming weeks seeking offers for deliveries in 2012-2021.
