Post date: Mar 21, 2011 9:13:57 PM
Japan's nuclear crisis is taking its toll on the global uranium industry -- as concerns about nuclear energy lead to volatility in shares of the world's major producers.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA REUTERS - The partial meltdown at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant has breathed new uncertainty into uranium markets which have seen huge price swings in the days since the crisis began.
"We are waiting to see whether the world responds in a non-nuclear way," Reuters metals correspondent Jim Reagan said.Some analysts say they expect uranium prices to rise in the short term due to strong demand from developed nations that rely on nuclear power for most of their energy output.
"We've already had reassurances from the Japanese ambassador to Kazakhstan, a big supplier of uranium to the world that their contracts are intact and will grow over the years so the question mark still exists," Reagan said.
Shares of uranium producers rebounded on Monday as fears over Japan's crisis subsided a bit, but the recovery comes days after some of world's largest producers saw their prices fall dramatically. Cameco Inc, the world's No. 2 uranium producer tumbled more than 20 percent last week.
Continuous news coverage showing the drama unfolding at the Fukushima plant has given rise to global anxiety over the threat posed by uranium.
"There's a lot of emotion and psychology involved with nuclear power and nuclear radiation," Jeffrey M. Christian, managing director for CPM Group said. "It looks like it could have an extended negative effect on the refocusing of nuclear power over the last few years and this could last for several years."
Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia are the world's largest uranium producers.