Antinuclear

Brief rally in uranium market grinds to a halt

The atomic fuel has slipped 6.8 percent to $42.40 a pound since the Liberal Democratic Party won Dec. 16 elections, erasing most of the 12 percent gain in the six weeks before the vote. While the LDP pledged to review the previous administration’s zero-nuclear policy, regulators probably won’t allow any more plants to start in 2013, a survey of power companies by Kyodo News showed. Uranium will average less than $48 a pound in the six months ending June, the lowest for this time of year since 2010, according to Credit Suisse Group AG.

A delay in the resumption of nuclear plants would be a blow for uranium producers from Australia toNamibia, while boosting natural gas exporters such as Qatar, which helped plug Japan’s power deficit after the March 2011 meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant. The disaster sent uranium tumbling as countries from Germany to China said they would phase out atomic power or slow project approvals. All but two of Japan’s 50 reactors are still shut and must meet stricter safety standards before they can restart……..

The Nuclear Regulation Authority in January approved safety standards for reactors idled after the Fukushima disaster, which caused the evacuation of 160,000 people. Plants must meet the new rules before they can resume. The regulations, to be implemented in July, mean restarts are unlikely in 2013, Kyodo News reported March 4, citing a survey of Japan’s 10 biggest power companies.

“If true, that bodes very negatively for uranium prices this year,” said Joel Crane, the vice president of research at Morgan Stanley in Melbourne. Prices may average $46.75 a pound this year, he said…..

March 14, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized