Uranium prices are holding near their highest levels in six months, with the benchmark spot price hovering around $89.65 a pound after a summer rally driven by a widening supply squeeze and rising demand for nuclear power to run AI data centers.
The U3O8 spot price indicator tracked by nuclear-fuel consultancy TradeTech touched $89.50 a pound in late August — a six-month high and a 4.7% rise since mid-July — before roughly holding that level through last week, according to TradeTech data cited by FNArena and Carbon Credits. Traders described available material above $90 a pound as scarce, and TradeTech's mid-term and long-term price indicators, at $88 and $97 a pound respectively, point to further gains ahead.
A supply delay adds to the squeeze
The immediate catalyst was a setback at Kazatomprom, the world's largest uranium producer: the Kazakh miner disclosed that construction of a sulfuric acid plant needed to process new ore has been delayed by paleontological discoveries at the site, pushing the commissioning date from the first quarter of 2027 to sometime between the third quarter of 2027 and the first quarter of 2028. Sulfuric acid is a key input for the in-situ leaching method Kazatomprom uses to extract uranium, so the delay tightens an already constrained supply outlook.
Utilities have responded by locking in longer-term supply. Term-market activity has intensified, with buyers seeking contracts stretching through 2034 and beyond to insulate themselves from further production delays and rising costs. That is layering on top of demand growth tied to data centers: technology companies including Google have signed long-term nuclear power-purchase agreements this month to secure carbon-free electricity for AI computing, adding a new category of buyer to a market long dominated by utilities.
Uranium miners have posted mixed results against that backdrop. Paladin Energy and Boss Energy both reported fiscal 2026 results in late August, while diversified miner BHP, which produces uranium as a byproduct at its Olympic Dam copper operation in Australia, has said it remains content with that smaller role and has no plans to make uranium a primary focus alongside copper, iron ore and potash.
With Kazatomprom's delay unlikely to resolve before 2027 and reactor demand still climbing, traders expect the spot price to keep testing levels not seen in years, even if near-term moves stay incremental.
