Antinuclear

Price of uranium continues to drop

Half-hearted uranium price response to Olympic Dam incident

TORONTO  – The uranium spot price firmed in October, after BHP Billiton reported an accident at its Olympic Dam copper/uranium mine mine, in Australia, but has failed to find support at the higher level, Australian equity research firm Resource Capital Research (RCR) commented on Friday.

The spot price of uranium rallied from $43,50/lb to $49,50/lb by the end of October, following the Olympic Dam incident on October 6, but has retreated to $45/lb.

“Given the incident is likely to remove two-million pounds of U₃O₈ from the market by the first quarter of 2010 (when production is expected to recommence), in our view it is a little concerning that there hasn’t been a more sustained price response,” RCR commented in a quarterly report on the uranium market.
At $45/lb, the spot price is 5% lower than three months ago, when it traded at $47,50/lb, and well below the $52,50/lb at the end of December 2008.

RCR’s price outlook is “flat”, with no significant change in the uranium spot price expected in the near term.

December 11, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, uranium | antinuclear, Australia, BHP, BHP Billiton, nuclear costs, uranium