well you do have a point. But the fact is, the demand cannot...

well you do have a point. But the fact is, the demand cannot exceed the supply. The shoppers cannot buy more than exists for sale.

Two things happen when the supply is reduced for some reason such as the cigar lake fiasco. The price rises, and some of the least keen buyers miss out on their supply, while the more keen buyers pay a higher price for the smaller amount available.

The same as the least banana-loving consumers simply gave up buying bananas when the supply was restricted. Because they didn't want them bad enough to pay the higher price.

So when the supply falls for some reason, the demand also FALLS as the price rises.

Now if there are stockpiles somewhere, this changes a bit, but only as long as the stockpile lasts.


Now what does this mean for uranium ? Well if there was a real shortage, some nuclear power generators would have to shut down some of their plants or run them at lower load factors, because there would not be enough uranium to go round. Or maybe defer new plants. Or close old ones down prematurely.

A supply shortage and higher prices would also stimulate exploration and production increases from other sources.

dgni, "A decrease in supply wouldn't affect the demand, would it? ". Well obviously, if there is not enough supply, the demand is affected. The demand cannot continue at the same rate if THERE IS NOT ENOUGH actual uranium produced.

Now because the cost of the raw material fuel is such a tiny proportion of the total cost of producing nuclear power, the fact is, the power producers could be paying large multiples of current prices for supplies if they had to.