Russia considers restricting uranium and nickel exports, and the US uranium mining sector responds with a sharp rise
Russian President Putin is considering restricting the export of uranium, titanium, and nickel in retaliation against Western sanctions, leading to a surge in the uranium mining sector of the US stock market. Companies such as Cameco and Uranium Royalty saw their stock prices rise by over 6%, while Energy Fuels surged by over 8%. Putin stated that Russia is in a leading position in strategic raw material reserves, and the restrictive measures should not harm Russia. Nickel futures on the London Metal Exchange rose by 2.5%
According to the information obtained from Zhitong Finance and Economics APP, it is reported that Russian President Putin is considering restricting the exports of uranium, titanium, and nickel in retaliation against Western sanctions. In response to this news, the uranium mining sector in the US stock market surged.
Reportedly, Putin told government ministers at a meeting, "Russia is in a leading position in many strategic raw material reserves." Due to the Western sanctions limiting the exports of some Russian goods, "perhaps we should consider restricting the exports of uranium, titanium, and nickel." Putin added that these restrictions should not harm Russia.
As of the close of trading on Wednesday, Cameco (CCJ.US), Uranium Royalty (UROY.US) rose over 6%, Denison Mines (DNN.US) rose nearly 7%, Ur-Energy (URG.US) rose over 7%, Energy Fuels (UUUU.US) rose over 8%, Encore Energy (EU.US), Centrus Energy (LEU.US) rose nearly 10%, Uranium Energy (UEC.US) rose over 12%.
The Global X Uranium ETF (URA.US) closed up more than 5%.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, the United States and the European Union have imposed various sanctions on the Russian economy, including sanctions on some metal and mining companies. However, many commodities, including nickel, palladium, and uranium, have not been restricted and continue to be shipped to Western markets.
After Putin's speech, three-month nickel futures on the London Metal Exchange rose 2.5% to an intraday high of $16,110 per ton