Commodities | Sep 15 2015
By Greg Peel
Uranium market participants gathered in London last week for the World Nuclear Association’s annual Symposium. As is the case each year, market activity slowed to a trickle as traders left their desks around the globe to prop up a London bar.
Industry consultant TradeTech reported only four transactions totalling 500,000lbs of U3O8 equivalent concluded in the spot market last week, compared to the 1.1mlbs traded in the preceding week ahead of what is effectively a week off for the market.
There are several tenders out from utilities for mid and long term supply contracts and spot traders are waiting to see what sort of prices they command before becoming more aggressive in either direction. Hence TradeTech’s weekly spot price indicator is unchanged at US$37.25/lb.
Having adjusted term price indicators the week before, TradeTech last week maintained a US$40.00lb mid term price and US$44.00/lb long term price indicator.
While Japan’s first restarted reactor shifted to commercial operation last week, having fired up last month, the highlight of the Symposium was news on China’s progress on nuclear energy development.
The economic slowdown in China has not undermined the country’s world-leading progress on alternative fuel development. A talking point at the Symposium was the recent release of the Implementation Plan for Speeding Up the Development of Guangdong Province’s Clean Energy Industry, which outlines plans for the province’s nuclear, natural gas and renewable energy (wind, solar) initiatives.
Meanwhile, the Symposium heard China intends to restart its nuclear reactor building program (stalled by Fukushima) in inland provinces over the next five years to meet growing power demands. Ten provinces have plans for nuclear projects and 31 proposals have already passed pre-feasibility tests.
And in a hands-across-the-water deal, The UK prime minister is next month expected to sign an agreement for the Chinese to build a prototype reactor in Essex, which would represent the first Chinese-operated reactor in the West. In return, the Chinese will help fund the construction of two more reactors, in Somerset and Suffolk, to be built by a French company.
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