vchal/iStock via Getty Images
Uranium stocks surge in Tuesday’s trading after the U.S. Department of Energy issued a request for proposals from enrichment service companies to establish a domestic supply of fuels using high assay low enriched uranium, or HALEU, that is enriched up to 20%, compared with traditional uranium fuel used in today’s reactors of ~5%.
HALEU is not commercially available from U.S.-based suppliers, and currently is available only in commercial levels from Russia.
Uranium names trade broadly higher: Global Atomic (OTCQX:GLATF) +8.5%, NexGen Energy (NXE) +6.6%, Fission Uranium (OTCQX:FCUUF) +6.3%, Denison Mines (DNN) +5.7%, Ur-Energy (URG) +5.7%, Uranium Energy (UEC) +5.6%, Yellow Cake (OTCQX:YLLXF) +5.6%, Cameco (CCJ) +4.3%, Energy Fuels (UUUU) +4.2%, Uranium Royalty (UROY) +3.9%, Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) +3.6%.
ETFs: (NLR), (URA)
Centrus (LEU), the only U.S. company with a license to produce HALEU and which is supplying the DoE with a small amount of the fuel for demonstration purposes, said it is encouraged that the request for proposals could lead to more production at its plant in Ohio.
Spot prices for triuranium octoxide, the form of uranium that is widely traded, reached $92.50/lb on Monday, the highest since 2007 and more than doubling since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to uranium market data firm UxC.
