Uranium Falls 6% on Non-Traditional Seller, TradeTech Says By Yuriy Humber - Feb 21, 2011 10:47 AM GMT+0800
Uranium prices, which gained in every week of January, fell by 6 percent after the entry into the market of a ?non-traditional seller,? according to TradeTech LLC.
Uranium-oxide concentrate for immediate delivery traded at $68.50 a pound in the seven days ended Feb. 18, down $4.25 from the week before, Denver-based pricing service TradeTech said in a Feb. 18 report. Ux Consulting Co. on Feb. 15 quoted the price at $72.25 a pound. UxC will update its price later today.
Nuclear-power utilities buy the bulk of their uranium for processing into fuel from mining companies, with the contracts mostly extending beyond a year. The immediate delivery, or spot market, allows trading for delivery within a year and includes financial investors. The U.S. government also periodically conducts auctions to reduce stocks.
?The entry of a non-traditional seller into the market looking to place over 800,000 pounds of uranium oxide triggered the price slide,? TradeTech said, without giving details on the seller. ?A lack of clarity and speculation about the true motivation for the sale provided momentum to the price decline.?
There have been ?numerous reports? of Chinese traders seeking to sell uranium on the spot market, UxC said Feb. 15.
Uranium prices, which reached a record high of $136 a pound in 2007 before falling to about $40, have risen since mid-2010 as China increased the use of nuclear power to curb emissions from burning coal. More than 150 new reactors are planned worldwide by 2030, with China planning 110 units, according to data compiled by the World Nuclear Association.
Seven transactions for 700,000 pounds of uranium were completed last week, TradeTech said. A non-U.S. producer entered the market seeking offers for 300,000 pounds of the material, the pricing service said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Yuriy Humber in Tokyo at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Hobbs in Sydney at [email protected]
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