Wednesday, uranium juggernaut Cameco(NYSE:
CCJ)reported earnings, indicated the contracting cycle has inflected, and marked the beginning of a new bull marketfor uranium(NYSEARCA:
URA). The market agreed; Cameco shares traded 15% higher, and continued to rally Thursday morning. On the back of the Cameco report, Sprott Uranium Trust(
OTCPK:SRUUF)announced the purchase 500k lbs of physical uranium Wednesday alone. And Thursday, Macron announced additional plans for his "nuclear renaissance."
Sprott made headlines in 2021, as the company launched the world's first investment product designed to provide retail investors with direct exposure to the physical uranium market. The product acquired 21m lbs of uranium as of July 2021, enough to meet global demand for almost two months. Since that time, the trust has more than doubled its holdings. And Wednesday alone, the Trust purchased 500k lbs, bringing the 2022 total to 3.6m lbs.
Just as retail investors soak up spot-market supply, France's Macron announced plans to increase uranium demand. On the campaign trail, Macron promised to shut down 14 of the country's 58 aging reactors; Thursday, he announced plans to extend the lives of France's reactors from 40yrs to 50yrs. Additionally, Macron announced that France will build 14 new nuclear reactors as part of the Country's energy renaissance.
With the low-carbon energy
transition struggling to meet growing global energy demand, nuclear has fallen into favor with political leaders of late. Europe recently proposed including
nuclear energy in the sustainable energy "taxonomy," paving the way for climate-conscious investors to take a second look at the uranium sector.