Uranium Stocks Jump After Big Surge In Spot Price
May 4, 2005
By Lynne Olver Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
VANCOUVER (Dow Jones)--Stocks of Canadian uranium producers and
explorers jumped Wednesday after a consulting firm reported that
prices in the thinly traded uranium spot market surged 9% in the
latest week, a huge increase for a commodity that has been steadily
rising.
Analysts said Ux Consulting's weekly U3O8 spot price jumped US$2.25 to
US$26.25 a pound, while long-term prices remained at US$28 a pound.
In Toronto, shares of producers Cameco Corp. (CCJ) and Denison Mines
Inc. (DEN.T), and shares of junior explorers such as UEX Corp.
(UEX.T), International Uranium Corp. (IUC.T) and Western Prospector
Group Ltd. (WNP.V), closed higher.
Cameco rose 4.3% to C$52.28 on about 909,000; Denison ended up 3.9% at
C$16.89 on about 229,000; UEX gained 9.9% to end at C$1.88 on about
703,000; International Uranium closed up 6.9% at C$4.97; and Western
Prospector finished 11.1% higher at C$3.00.
Toronto-based miner Denison is cited as one reason for the big
commodity price increase. It will be the manager of a new Canadian
corporation that plans to buy and hold uranium for the long term. The
initial public offering of the company, called Uranium Participation
Corp., hasn't yet closed.
Earlier this week, Denison Chief Financial Officer Jim Anderson told
Dow Jones the company had put tenders into the market on behalf of
Uranium Participation for supply of the material, and was evaluating
responses. Actual purchases won't occur until the Uranium
Participation IPO has closed, which is expected later this month. The
final size of the public offering of shares and warrants isn't yet
known, but observers have said it could be up to C$100 million if
underwriters exercise various options.
The jump in spot prices is at least partly due to the new company,
said Haywood Securities analyst Jim Mustard. "The realization that an
C$80-million to C$100-million fund is coming to buy up product to
essentially take it off the market is going to have an impact," both
real and psychological, Mustard told Dow Jones.
It has become a "chicken-and-egg" scenario now, Mustard said, with
parties that have uranium available likely withholding it from sale,
on the expectation that more buyers will emerge, while buyers will
want to be ahead of the curve and buy now, not next month when the
price could be higher.
Uranium spot-market volumes for April were lighter than volumes in
March, but market activity remains strong, RBC Capital analyst Fraser
Phillips said in a note to clients.
"The record-setting jump in spot price is attributable to traders
setting offer prices well above market, and the very visible
solicitation for 3 million pounds of uranium by the newly launched
uranium commodity fund, Uranium Participation Corp.," Phillips wrote.
Denison is to receive a minimum C$400,000 a year fee to manage Uranium
Participation, plus a commission of 1.5% on the purchase and sale of
uranium. The new company has applied to trade under the symbol "U" on
the Toronto Stock Exchange.
On a quarterly conference call Monday, an analyst asked Cameco
President and Chief Executive Jerry Grandey whether the emergence of
Uranium Participation was having an effect on prices in the market.
"Not yet," Grandey replied.
Grandey also said his company wasn't interested in managing a uranium
fund or trust similar to the one Denison will manage. -Lynne Olver,
Dow Jones Newswires; 604-669-1595 |
