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Uranium Set for Best Run Since 2014 as Miners Buy After Halts

Uranium Set for Best Run Since 2014 as Miners Buy After Halts

(Bloomberg) -- Uranium is heading for its longest run of monthly gains since November 2014 as global supply tightens after mine closures and as producers and investors boost purchases in the spot market.

Spot uranium is up 2.1 percent this month, set for a fourth monthly advance, and has climbed more than 30 percent since hitting a low in April. A decline in supply and boost in demand has helped underpin a price increase, according to Ux Consulting Co., a provider of research on the nuclear industry. Further gradual gains are seen through the remainder of the year, Ux said.

Uranium Set for Best Run Since 2014 as Miners Buy After Halts

“Whether we get as high as $30 by year-end remains to be seen, but that would likely be the next psychological barrier,” Ux President Jonathan Hinze said by email. “Market participants are expecting further price increases and some buyers are trying to get ahead of any future increases.”

Kazakhstan, the world’s biggest producer, is cutting output further this year, while Australia’s Paladin Energy Ltd. and Canada’s Cameco Corp. have halted operations, with Cameco seeking uranium in the spot market to fulfill contract obligations. Yellow Cake Plc, a venture created this year to purchase and hold the fuel, this month said it had increased its stockpile to 8.4 million pounds.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Sharples in Hong Kong at bsharples@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ramsey Al-Rikabi at ralrikabi@bloomberg.net, Alpana Sarma, Abhay Singh

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.