Commodities | May 04 2010
By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck
After revisiting US$41/lb in early April, the spot price for U3O8 (yellow cake) has steadfastly risen by US25c increments to climb back to US$41.75/lb by month's end. This brings the spot price back to where it was at the end of March.
Industry consultant TradeTech recorded a total of 16 transactions for April, combined involving over 2.5 million pounds U3O8 equivalent, with end users accounting for about one-third of the total volume purchased.
Though demand remains predominantly discretionary in nature, TradeTech reports there are pockets of strong demand.
Last week, analysts at Citi reported they believed uranium has to be priced at least at US$60/lb to attract sufficient new investment and supply in the sector for the longer term.
TradeTech's medium-term price benchmark stands at US$50/lb, its longer term price benchmark sits at US$60/lb.
