Uranium boom is inevitable, the only question is when. Most...

Uranium boom is inevitable, the only question is when. Most likely within the next two years because US utilities reportedly have 2-3 years of inventory left, however since this is a very opaque market it's difficult to know for sure. Also it is reported that secondary supply is thin and relatively small amounts are traded on the spot market. A weird phenomena appears to be that utilities tend not to chase uranium purchases when spot prices are falling but get very active when prices start moving up. As we have all seen spot prices have been trending down over that past few months but what is interesting is that long term prices have remained the same over the same period. In the short term it appears utilities are quite happy to purchase relatively small amounts of uranium from carry traders to add to their diminishing inventories, but at some point as inventory levels start to drop to near or below two years worth of supply, they will need to sign long term replacement rate contracts and these contracts are usually signed two years out meaning contracts signed now are for delivery in two years time.
So why are the utilities holding back? Uranium is a very small cost in the cost of operating a nuclear utility. Sanctions on Russian uranium imports may be lifted if a peace deal is signed with Ukraine, possible talk of a deal with Russia and China to reduce nuclear weapons and have the HEU down blended to HALEU for use in reactors, and tariffs. So it's not hard to see why utilities given current inventory levels and access to some small secondary supplies are patiently waiting to see how it all unfolds.
The supply deficit continues to grow and the longer the utilities wait and prices stay surpressed the longer it will take to incentivise new production and the longer it takes to bring new production to the market the higher prices will go especially with financial players like SPUT and others also in the market buying pounds. There are currently 440 reactors in operation with 60 being built and 100 more being planned. The US has committed to tripling nuclear power by 2050 (under Biden).
Let's hope that when the time comes PEN will be in a position to take advantage of this incredible opportunity and deliver the goods.