Outlook is not entirely bleak for world’s worst-performing commodity
No major commodity had a worse 2016 than uranium. In fact, the element used to make nuclear fuel has had a pretty dismal decade. Prices tumbled 41% last year, touching a 12-year low below $18 a pound in November, according to Ux Consulting, which compiles market data. The slump was the seventh in nine years. The rise of nuclear power has slowed as utilities shifted to cheaper natural gas for new generators. And after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, safety concerns led big uranium buyers including Japan and Germany to shut down or decommission reactors. "It’s the world’s best asset in the world’s worst market," said Leigh Curyer, CEO of NexGen Energy, a Vancouver-based uranium producer. "I don’t think there’s a mine profitable at current spot prices. This short-term spot price isn’t reflective of the cost of producing a pound globally." The outlook is not entirely bleak. Losses are forcing uranium mines to cut production or close, which may eventually create a supply crunch, while accel...
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