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No disagreement there, but my point is that uranium is a somewhat unique market in that demand doesn't really respond to price. In most markets there's a degree of response from both demand and supply to a change in price, but with uranium the response, in the medium term (10 years) at least, is from the supply side only. As such the market has, in theory at least, the potential to be rather volatile - if the price goes through the roof then that won't lead to nuclear plants sitting idle.
In contrast, coal is constrained in price by the oil and gas price due to the ability to substitute to significant extent and that coal is a major part of the operating cost of a power plant using it (assuming export pricing for the coal - not always the case in practice but often is).
Yes demand doesn't really respond to price, but the price certainly does respond to demand, and when the Americans do start reprocessing, we will have a whole lot of supply that won't respond to price.
In much the same way as a nuclear plant won't idle if the fuel costs increased, a reprocessing program who's aim is to reduce the volume of waste stored, will not idle supply if the price drops.
I just see the current supply being sufficient to meet demand, and we have a whole bunch of potential supply sitting on the side lines, and it will eventually come to market, whether that's 2years or 10years or 20years I am not sure. but when it does it will be big, and it will be willing to run at a loss.
Could you name me some triggers for a Uranium resurgence? I frankly can't see any post Fukushima.
Crude collapse, Coal the same. Hell not even the Greens are talking solar/wind power anymore. Chevron sacking everyone in Karatha and we now have a gas glut. Fracking rules for cheap energy source.
You have frequent reminders off Japanese shores yearly and even the anti U Japanese lobby has sustain their objections with fresh reminder of Fukushima.
Did you read my comments?
I wasn't making a case for a spike in the Uranium price, I was making a case that in the years ahead we may have a significant oversupply.
Any how, I do think there will be consistent stable demand that will rise slowly as more reactors in china ramp up, and Japanese get back into it. But I think Supply will be able to meet this slow growth easily.
Here are some comments about the Mega tonnes to mega watts program, a program where decommissioned Russian Nuclear war heads were converted into fuel to be sold into the USA, notice he mentions the affect on price.
when you think about the large amount of nuclear warheads that the USA have to decommission, and 50 years of spent fuel rods, there is a lot of non conventional supply out there.
[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FmjQxav4zlA[/video]
Uranium ETF (URA- US) is being sold off as we speak. ASX uranium companies have been falling for the past two weeks. Uranium is cool for now, definitely not hot.
Uranium won't rally unless the "crazies" change their mind and realise that nuclear is the only option to eliminate the use of fossil fuels for 24hr power generation.
Yes, I've been watching the juniors come off which is a good thing. Ran ahead of themselves.
We might have to wait until the lights goes out enough times for people to change their minds on nuclear. It's a big hurdle in non-nuclear countries such as Australia. Are we the only country in the OECD without nuclear as part of the mix?
Anywho, I'm not thinking that we will be the ones to re-start the mothballed uranium mines but Japan and perhaps Chindia demand.
I think it's a medium to long term play - 5-10 years.
There just doesn't seem to me to be any momentum for the uranium price to move substantially in the short term. It will have it's day in the sun again but for now, there are just better trading alternatives elsewhere.
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