India, China continue to push for more nuclear facilities to ease energy shortages -- prices set to rise says analyst Yuriy Humber

Moscow: The uranium industry’s worst year is about to collide with a nuclear construction programe in India and China that rivals the ones undertaken during the oil crisis of the 1970s.

The result is likely to be a 58% rebound in uranium to $90 (Rs3,870) a pound from $57 now, according to Goldman Sachs JBWere Pty. Ltd and the Rio Tinto group, the third biggest mining company. Uranium plunged 57% in the past year as an earthquake damaged a Japanese plant that is the world’s largest and faults shut down reactors in the UK and Germany.

Plans for India and China to end electricity shortages will ripple from Canada to the Australian outback and the flatlands of Kazakhstan, the primary sources of uranium. India will start three reactors this year, with another six due next year in India, China, Russia, Canada and Japan. Uranium demand worldwide will rise as fast as oil this year, or 0.8%, Deutsche Bank AG forecasts.

Scarce commodity: The Hamaoka nuclear power station in Japan. Uranium plunged 57% in the past year
as an earthquake damaged another plant in Japan and faults shut down reactors in the UK and Germany.
(Photo: Robert Gilhooly/Bloomberg)

“The first wave of growth is going to come from the emerging economies,” said John Wong, fund manager with CQS UK Llp. in London, which has $10 billion under management including $150 million of uranium investments. “People are starting to look at coal, gas, oil and seeing the energy prices go up, they wonder about uranium.”

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