Global uranium prices reached their highest point in more than 15 years in late October, according to COMEX data, with analysts attributing the sharp rise to a range of factors, including geopolitical tensions.
Uranium futures for November delivery jumped to $74.5 per pound on Monday, data shows. The radioactive metal’s price is up 55% since the beginning of the year.
Resurgent demand for uranium – which is widely used for nuclear energy – has been putting pressure on prices in light of limited global reserves. Analysts have been reporting renewed global interest in nuclear power amid declining energy supplies from Russia.
Adding to those concerns, Canadian miner Cameco, the world’s second largest uranium producer, has lowered output forecast for 2023. Another major producer, France’s Orano, has also been facing difficulties due to a recent coup in Niger, which accounts for 4% of global uranium output. The African country was the second-largest supplier of uranium to the EU last year as Russian energy supplies dwindled.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) had previously projected a spike in worldwide demand for critical minerals, including uranium, due to renewed interest in nuclear power.
A recent report from the World Nuclear Association has forecast nuclear capacity growing nearly 80% and demand for uranium roughly doubling by 2040.
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