Copper, oil and gold had a tough year in commodities markets, but immediate delivery prices for nuclear fuel – in market lingo, the UX-U3O8 spot price – rose 18 percent to an average of $39 a pound in 2015, according to market analysts.
The price climbed from an average of $33 in 2014, which, Reuters pointed out, made it the best-performing metal for 2015 in a year when most commodities struggled to break even.
Copper was down 26 percent on the year and oil down 35 percent. Gold fell 9.4 percent.
On Wednesday, the spot price for nuclear fuel was down to $34.25. But analysts conclude the price of nuclear fuel will follow the laws of supply and demand and continue to rise as China chugs along at a pace of finishing six to eight nuclear power plants a year for the next five years and India follows suit with plans to increase its reliance on nuclear power more than five-fold through 2050.
Uranium prices followed a well-tread industry storyline. Spot prices were close to $60 before the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in 2011. They skidded to a nine-year low of $28 in 2014. But now, even Japan's return to nuclear power, albeit a cautious one, will put upward pressure on the commodity that drives the industry, according to analysts.
Look for a return to $60 per pound by 2018, say analysts at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and BMO Capital, Reuters reported.
According to the World Nuclear Association, 150 million pounds of nuclear fuel was consumed in 2015. Analysts expect that to rise by 33 percent within the next four years.
With the slump behind them, uranium producers are on the verge of clinching new deals. Chinese companies have signed cooperation agreements with Kazakshstan, the world's largest uranium producer, that could result in a new processing facility in China. Similarly, uranium supplier Cameco has signed a five-year deal to supply India with fuel for its nuclear power plants.