Bloomberg- Uranium rose for a third consecutive week as speculators rekindled their interest in the raw material in nuclear reactor fuel, said TradeTech LLC, a publisher of price assessments.<\/p>\n
The metallic element for immediate delivery rose $4, or 5 percent, to $84 a pound, Denver-based TradeTech said yesterday in a weekly report. The equivalent of at least 350,000 pounds were sold in two transactions, the company said.<\/p>\n
“Renewed buying interest on the part of speculators and hedge funds is contributing to the upward price pressure,” TradeTech said. “However, this demand remains predominantly discretionary.”<\/p>\n
Purchases by hedge funds and other non-consumers of uranium helped lift the spot price to a record $138 a pound in June, according to TradeTech’s assessments. The price fell as low as $75 by the end of September as speculators sold to generate cash and some nuclear power operators temporarily withdrew from the market.<\/p>\n
“I think we’ll have a continuing strong market, but a more rational market,” E. Peter Farmer, president of Toronto-based Uranium Participation Corp., a speculative buyer of uranium, said yesterday in an interview.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 28, Uranium Participation bought 217,230 kilograms of uranium hexafluoride, of UF6, at the equivalent uranium price of about $75 a pound, the company said in a statement on Oct. 3.<\/p>\n