Uranium prices spike to their highest since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, as Biden weighs sanctions on Russian supplier

• Uranium prices rose 11% Friday, to their highest level since Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.
• That surge followed reports that Joe Biden is weighing sanctions against Russia’s nuclear power supplier, Rosatom.
• Uranium wasn’t included in Biden’s earlier ban on Russian oil and other energy products.

Uranium prices surged to their highest level since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, as the threat of a US ban on Russian imports of the commodity added to mounting concerns about supply.

President Joe Biden is consulting the US nuclear industry about the impact of potential sanctions against Russia’s nuclear-energy company, Rosatom, according to media reports. The state-owned company — a major supplier of nuclear fuel and technology to power plants worldwide — is involved in uranium mining and enrichment.

At the same time, President Vladimir Putin ordered a ban on some Russian exports from Wednesday. While the order did not specify which goods or raw materials will be restricted, the move raised alarm over its impact on Russia’s uranium flows. 

Spot uranium prices rose 11.7% to $60.40 per pound Friday, according to data from Trading Economics. That’s the highest level since March 2011, when a nuclear accident at Japan’s Fukushima plant melted uranium fuel and sent shockwaves through the industry, leaving prices struggling to recover. Uranium is now up 118% in the past 12 months.

“On the demand side, elevated oil and natural gas prices prompted utilities to search for cheaper alternatives,” TradingEconomics said on the surge in uranium’s price.

The Biden administration’s ban on Russian oil and other energy products earlier this week is seen as a move that will drive up energy prices. But it did not include uranium, Reuters reported, citing a source.

The US, the European Union and Group of 7 allies are poised on Friday to revoke Russia’s “most favored nation” status in trade, Reuters reported. That would allow the imposition of trade tariffs on a wide range of Russian products.

Russia and Ukraine are major commodity exporters, so unrest in the region has driven up prices of commodities from oil to wheat and nickel, with some hitting all-time highs.

Uranium-related sanctions could weaken diplomatic efforts by the US, including in the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran, which assume continued nuclear material supply from Russia.

The US nuclear-energy industry is reliant on Russia, and its allies Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, for a major chunk of the uranium that powers its plants. In 2020, Russia accounted for about 16% of uranium and 23% of enriched uranium used in US nuclear reactors, which need refueling every two years, according to Bloomberg figures.

Russia’s uranium production is controlled by Rosatom, which supplies more than 35% of the world’s uranium, including via subsidiaries. Founded in 2007 by Putin, it is a significant revenue source for Russia.

It isn’t clear yet what the sanctions would mean for US nuclear plants and fuel importers, if one comes, though the industry has called on the White House to continue uranium imports from Russia.

“We can’t afford not to have Russian uranium and enrichment,” Chris Gadomski, a nuclear industry analyst at Bloomberg NEF, said. “Russian uranium is cheaper than other global sources, while US production is negligible.”

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