Commodities | Dec 13 2011
By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck
Buyers found themselves chasing higher prices in the spot uranium (U3O8) market last week, with industry consultant TradeTech pointing in the direction of one non-US utility selecting a provider for 275,000 pounds of yellow cake. Demand for deliveries in Europe also picked up considerably during the week.
The end result was TradeTech's spot price jumping US75c per pound on the back of seven successfully concluded deals, good for a total of 875,000 pounds changing ownership. TradeTech's new spot price now sits at US$52.50/lb. This compares with a medium-term price benchmark of US$54.50 (unchanged) and a Long-Term price indicator of US$62/lb (also unchanged during the week).
There is no new apparent demand in the term uranium market, but TradeTech's list of existing interest suggests there's still plenty of room for price negotiation. According to the industry consultant, one non-US utility is seeking a total of over 1.7 million pounds U3O8 for delivery between 2014 and 2020. This utility is currently evaluating offers.
Another non-US utility continues to evaluate offers for deliveries beginning in 2019 and continuing through 2023, and another non-US utility is evaluating offers received in response to its Request for Proposals seeking up to 50% of its uranium, conversion, and enrichment requirements with deliveries beginning in
2015, according to TradeTech.
A third non-US utility continues to evaluate offers for up to 2.9 million pounds U3O8 equivalent contained in UF6 or enriched uranium product (EUP) for delivery that would begin in 2012 and continue for the life of the plant, or until 2032. Another non-US utility is evaluating offers for long-term deliveries that would begin in 2015.
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