Will Russia cut off uranium supplies to the US?
Now Russian state uranium firm Tenex is informing American customers that “ the Kremlin could preemptively block exports ” to the United States if Washington passes certain legislation that would ban imports starting in 2028, Bloomberg reported Friday.
Tenex's US subsidiary has already alerted companies such as Constellation Energy, Duke Energy and Dominion Energy about this potential scenario, the report said, although Russia has not yet made a final decision. Individual companies did not respond to Bloomberg's comments , while Rosatom, Tenex's parent company, denied claims of any warnings to US customers.
Rosatom commented: “Tenex completely rejects as inaccurate the information regarding the alleged 'warnings' of a potential 'pre-emptive' ban on supplies of enriched uranium to the United States.”
“Neither Tenex itself nor any of its subsidiaries have issued such notifications to their foreign customers,” they added.
The Russian uranium export ban could disrupt markets and raise nuclear fuel prices, hitting small energy firms, the report said.
As a reminder, the U.S. Senate blocked quick passage of a House bill banning imports of Russian uranium, even though it remains popular and could resurface.
If the law passes, it would allow imports through 2028 through waivers, giving power companies time to find other sources.
Russia, which supplied nearly a quarter of America's enriched uranium last year, is a key supplier to the US. In 2022 , 95% of the uranium used in the USA was imported, as domestic US costs are too high.
Jonathan Hinze of UxC LLC told Bloomberg that without these waivers, prices could jump from $152 to $180 per separate work unit. SWUs measure the volume and enrichment of uranium.”
He added: “But if there is an immediate ban, the situation could be even more extreme. Available supplies are very limited."
Recall that in late October we noticed that hedge funds were loading up on uranium stocks, many of which posted double-digit returns above those of the S&P for 2023, after uranium had lagged in previous years .
However, the need remains for the USA to build its own system of mines and adequate refining plants, as well as uranium enrichment systems, if it really does not want to be more dependent on supplies from Russia and China.
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The article Will Russia cut off uranium supplies to the US? comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-russia-interrompera-le-forniture-di-uranio-agli-usa/ on Tue, 19 Dec 2023 08:00:23 +0000.