Commodities | Jun 04 2013
By Andrew Nelson
Uranium sellers were not inclined to sell in May and unfortunately for them, the buyers weren’t really buying either. The spot price traded in a tight range over the month, starting at US$40.50 per pound and then dropping to US$40.25 before heading back up to end the month at US$40.40 per pound.
The same old story continued to play out, the one in which sellers can’t/don’t want to drop prices further versus buyers that really don’t need the stock. Industry analyst TradeTech reports that producers have been going almost door to door to shift uncommitted material off the shelves this year at or around current prices, but buyers are increasingly focused on 2014 deliveries.
There was a bit of hope earlier in the month that prices could start pushing higher on news of a terrorist attack and subsequent production stoppage at the Somair uranium mine in Niger. The problem with this ill-conceived hope is that it looks like production at the facility will kick back on over the next few months and with little disruption to delivery commitments.
With buyers not buying and sellesr not wanting to sell at lower prices, market activity in May was slow. TradeTech reports only 23 transactions were concluded, accounting for nearly 3 million pounds of U3O8 equivalent. While by no means running hot, May was at least up on the 2.4m pounds that changed hands in April.
By the end of the month, which was also the end of the week, TradeTech’s Exchange Spot Price Indicator had come off US10c to US$40.40.
There was a tiny ray of sunshine that poked through the blinds towards the end of the month. TradeTech reports that just before the final bell, one non-US utility entered the market in a search for offers of over 500,000 pounds. No delivery date was noted.
There were also a few signs of life on the term market, with four transactions concluded, seeing 1.3 million pounds of U3O8 find a new home. Despite the action, TradeTech's Mid-Term U3O8 Price Indicator was unchanged at US$44.00 per pound, while the Long-Term Indicator was also unchanged at US$57.00 per pound.
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