Russia's "uranium limit" leads to a surge in nuclear power stocks, hedge fund king Griffin lends support: I have invested in nuclear power, this is the future

This Monday, as nuclear power stocks surged, the leader of the hedge fund new king Citadel received further support.

Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, which surpassed Bridgewater to become the "king of hedge funds" in 2022, said, "I have invested in nuclear power; this is the future (of the AI era)." He also stated that he opposes the climate change disclosure requirements proposed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

It is worth mentioning that last month, Griffin just participated in a $500 million financing for small modular reactor (SMR) developer X-Energy, which was led by Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund.

Also last month, Amazon and Google reached a landmark power supply agreement to promote the deployment of the first SMRs in the United States. As a result, several U.S. nuclear energy stocks soared, reaching historic highs. Wall Street Insight mentioned at the time that artificial intelligence (AI) is driving a "nuclear renaissance." Due to the enormous power demand from data centers, the nuclear industry, which has experienced a prolonged downturn for over a decade, seems to be gradually on the path to revival.

On the day of Griffin's speech, November 18, this Monday, nuclear power and uranium stocks rose broadly. Paladin Energy, listed in Sydney, Australia, rose 5.49%, Deep Yellow rose 7.02%, rebounding from its lowest closing price since September 18, BOSS Energy rose 7.34%, also rebounding from its lowest closing price since September; Bannerman rose 5.26%, moving away from its lowest closing price since September.

After the U.S. stock market opened, nuclear power and uranium stocks continued to rise. Oklo, in which OpenAI CEO Sam Altman invested, surged 23% at one point during lunch, while Nuscale and Centrus both rose over 10%, and Vistra rose over 7%. Dominion Energy, which had fallen over 1% in early trading, turned positive towards the end of the morning session and rose over 1% during lunch.

The rise in nuclear power and uranium stocks this Monday was mainly due to Russia's announcement last Friday that it would temporarily restrict the export of enriched uranium to the United States.

Commentators believe this move targets a particularly vulnerable segment of the U.S. nuclear fuel cycle. Russia controls nearly half of the global capacity for uranium isotope separation required for reactors and supplied over a quarter of the enriched uranium to the United States last year. Russia's restriction on enriched uranium exports could pose supply risks to utility companies operating U.S. reactors, which produce nearly one-fifth of the country's electricity.

The statement released by the Russian government on social media platform Telegram last Friday did not provide details on the restrictions or their duration. Russia stated that the export restrictions are a response to the U.S. ban on importing Russian enriched uranium. In May of this year, Biden signed a bill banning imports, but under the exemption system, the bill allows for the continued shipment of enriched uranium from Russia to U.S. customers until 2028 UxC President Jonathan Hinze, who tracks the uranium fuel market, stated that while most deliveries have been completed this year, restrictions from Russia may start to have an impact next year. This could leave some reactor operators without alternative suppliers. Some utility companies that were expecting to receive enriched uranium may now find themselves unable to obtain it.

Chris Gadomski, Chief Nuclear Analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, mentioned that the U.S. does not have enough enriched uranium, "They should have stocked up on enriched uranium in advance to prepare for this situation."

Additionally, some analysts believe that the significant rise in Oklo's stock this past Monday is somewhat different. This is because over the weekend, Trump nominated Chris Wright, CEO of shale oil company Liberty Energy, to serve as U.S. Secretary of Energy, and Wright is also a board member of Oklo