The price of uranium is breaking records. What you need to know

Quotations of uranium contracts continue to move up and have come close to the level of about $89 per pound, which is the highest value since the summer of 2024. According to stock exchange statistics, the market has been showing positive dynamics for the second month in a row. What you need to know about the increase in cost is in the Izvestia article.

Cost increase

• Uranium stock prices have reached their highest levels since 2024. The growth is due to increased interest from investment funds and strengthening long-term expectations for demand for nuclear fuel. The largest specialized fund, Sprott Physical Uranium Trust, increased purchases to 2.3 million pounds in the third quarter of 2025.

• Active purchases by funds often lead to sharp price increases due to the limited liquidity of the uranium market. An additional factor was the US decision to expand strategic uranium reserves amid declining supplies from Russia due to import restrictions.

• The US authorities consider the development of nuclear energy as an important element of ensuring the growing demand for electricity. Currently, Russia provides about a quarter of the enriched uranium for American nuclear power plants, and a sharp refusal of these supplies without replacement may create risks for the energy balance. In the long term, global demand for uranium is projected to grow by almost a third by 2030, according to the World Nuclear Association.

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Digitalization requirements

• In addition, the increased use of artificial intelligence has also led to a sharp increase in electricity consumption, which has supported rising prices for uranium, a key fuel for nuclear power plants. The rapid development of AI has affected the data center segment, as well as the nuclear fuel market. Analysts expect that by 2040, global demand for uranium may grow by about two times and reach 150 thousand tons per year. At the same time, the total nuclear generation capacity in the world will increase to 746 GW, which is almost twice the current figures.

• At the same time, the industry is facing the consequences of the previous decline in interest in nuclear energy. In those years, companies reduced investments and froze the development of new deposits, which is why today the market relies heavily on existing reserves. Already in the next decade, some of the existing mines may exhaust their resource base.

• Rising prices are starting to change the situation. Long-term contracts are now being concluded at about $88 per pound, which corresponds to the peaks of the late 2000s. The expert community allows for further price increases. The stable fuel consumption of nuclear power plants and the relatively small share of uranium in the cost of production make the sector attractive to investors, with large funds and private market participants showing interest in it.

The future of uranium

• The peculiarity of nuclear generation is the stability of fuel consumption. One loading cycle ensures continuous operation of the reactor without interruptions. At the same time, the share of uranium in the cost of electricity at nuclear power plants does not exceed a fifth, while for coal and gas plants, fuel forms the bulk of the costs. Against this background, investment interest in companies related to the extraction, processing and maintenance of the nuclear industry will continue to grow.

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• In general, nuclear energy is increasingly seen as an element of a future low-carbon system, despite the mixed public perception in a number of countries. The expert community points to active investments in clean energy in Europe and Asia, as well as the role of small modular reactors, which promise to reduce costs and project deadlines.

• Restarts of old nuclear power plants and major corporate agreements, including plans to supply energy to data centers for AI, are an additional signal of the sector's revival. In the near future, companies working with uranium will benefit, and in the longer term, geothermal energy and nuclear fusion may become promising areas.

When writing the material, Izvestia took into account the opinion of:

• Fidelity Climate Action Fund Manager Asher Anolik.