By Andrew Nelson

Just when we thought the uranium market was settling down for a quiet holiday season, we are greeted with a busy week of year-end buying and selling. Producers were probably not too bothered by the uptick in activity and prices, likely wishing every week was like the last one.

Industry consultant TradeTech reports there were eight deals concluded over the course of last week, seeing some 1.2m pounds of U308 equivalent change hands. The buyers were mostly traders and financial entities, although there were also some utilities in the market as well. The sellers, for the most part, were traders and financials, which seems to indicate the week was about adjusting year-end positions rather than direct purchases to fuel nuclear energy supply.

While last week started off with a few deals booked below the prevailing spot, as the week wore on the price of uranium quickly reversed after a number of buyers turned up to buy around 700,000 pounds at prices above the prevailing spot. TradeTech notes sellers were quick to react in lifting prices, but the move did little to slow the buying, with another 500,000 pounds heading out the door at increasingly higher prices.

After the dust had settled, TradeTech's Weekly U3O8 Spot Price Indicator was up US$1.00 to US$43.50 per pound, making for the best week the market's seen in quite a while. And there could be a bit more activity next week, with one non-US utility is looking for