Washington (Platts)--20Nov2012/528 pm EST/2228 GMT
The uranium spot price rose to $41.75 a pound U3O8 over the past week on the strength of several deals for sizable quantities, several sources said, but it was uncertain if the about 75-cent price jump signaled a sustainable upward movement in the price over the next several weeks. "With that much volume, I would have expected the price to rise even more," one market analyst said. TradeTech on Friday raised its weekly price to $41.75/lb, up 75 cents from its November 9 price. TradeTech reported that over 2.5 million lb were traded in six deals as demand from non-US utilities and intermediaries rose. Article continues below...Request a free trial of: European Power DailyEuropean Power Daily's uniquely comprehensive package of news and pricing information, provides you with daily updates on new policies, projects, power deals, acquisitions, solicitations, alliances, regulatory decisions and evolving trading markets in Europe. It also produces market assessments from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and the Czech Republic.
The uranium spot price rose to $41.75 a pound U3O8 over the past week on the strength of several deals for sizable quantities, several sources said, but it was uncertain if the about 75-cent price jump signaled a sustainable upward movement in the price over the next several weeks. "With that much volume, I would have expected the price to rise even more," one market analyst said. TradeTech on Friday raised its weekly price to $41.75/lb, up 75 cents from its November 9 price. TradeTech reported that over 2.5 million lb were traded in six deals as demand from non-US utilities and intermediaries rose.
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European Power Daily's uniquely comprehensive package of news and pricing information, provides you with daily updates on new policies, projects, power deals, acquisitions, solicitations, alliances, regulatory decisions and evolving trading markets in Europe. It also produces market assessments from the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and the Czech Republic.
TradeTech said prices in those six transactions spanned "a broad range," but with five of the transactions concluded at or near $41.75/lb. TradeTech's daily price Monday also was 41.75/lb. Ux Consulting late Monday kept its weekly spot price at $41.25/lb, saying it expected spot market activity to slow down over the coming weeks as the market heads into the winter holiday season. But Ux also said that end-of-the-year selling has boosted December volume in some years. Outstanding is a request from Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power, which is looking for over 1 million lb for delivery sometime in 2013. Offers are due to the utility around December 10. But analysts have pointed out that KHNP has requested that the offers remain valid for six months, so it is unclear when the utility will make a buying decision. Ux's broker average price -- based on the price information from Evolution Markets and Armajaro Securities Ltd. -- was $41.50/lb Monday, up 25 cents from Friday's BAP. The BAP bid-offer spread Monday was $41-$42/lb, while the Platts NuclearFuel range for the week was $40-$43/lb U3O8.--Michael Knapik, newsdesk@platts.com--Edited by Valarie Jackson, valarie_jackson@platts.com
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