Uranium futures in the US were trading around $88 per pound, moving in a tight range after retreating from the two-year high of $101.50 reached in late January. The pullback tracked a broader decline in industrial commodities as the US dollar strengthened and traders scaled back worries about potential dollar debasement.
Even so, yellowcake contracts remained nearly 10% higher year-to-date, supported by a bullish demand outlook. A key driver has been a wave of nuclear power investment led by operators of energy-intensive data centers, with several major US tech companies signing agreements to deploy small modular reactors.
On the policy front, the US government has eased regulations on the construction and permitting of uranium conversion and enrichment facilities and has announced plans for new nuclear power projects. These include a partnership involving Cameco, which cleared the way for the development of Westinghouse reactors, as well as roughly $2.7 billion in new contracts awarded to Centrus and two other enrichment and reactor firms. The moves are intended to help replace nuclear fuel supplies from Russia that have been curtailed by sanctions.
