The Market

摘要

After climbing notably in March with a round of financial buying followed by multiple junior producers entering the market for various reasons, since the start of April, spot U_3O_8 activity has slowed down. And although additional producer purchases are anticipated over the next month or so, and a non-U.S. utility is reviewing offers based on its spot request for up to 260 tU (~676,000 pounds U_3O_8), current spot activity is limited. Since last Monday, only two spot transactions were reported as awarded during the week, bringing the totals for the month to five transactions involving about 700,000 pounds U_3O_8. While spot transaction activity was limited last week, there was an increase in interest and activity involving call options. Several market participants may not be fully convinced how the market will move next and may also be concerned about where they can pick up material in the future. So, a few are looking at options to secure supply without committing to purchases that go into inventory. Yet, it should also be pointed out that of the over ten million pounds of straight U_3O_8 transacted in March, roughly 85% of that volume was for prompt delivery (i.e., within 3 months). In any case, with a nearly complete lack of buyers since the start of April, coupled with multiple interested sellers, offers have been under consistent downward pressure. As a result, spot pricing has slowly softened since the end of March.