Surging U3O8 demand

Energy is an important commodity in the 21st century. It has become so important that so many countries are now worrying about it. After the September 11th, the America has told the world they want the oil so badly, which is no doubt for being the largest consumer of crude oil in the world. Until now, China becomes another economy that growing so rapidly who is trying to buy oil fields from all over the world, but of course this is not easy due to their strategic values. Looking around, you will see not just oil, but almost all of the commodities trading freely on exchange are rocketing, like gold, silver, sugar, and many more. In terms of energy, Bush has already warned the obsession of the dependency on crude oil as an energy source has turned into a disaster. Other source such as wind and hydro power are not adequate for today’s consumption, so nuclear power is becoming an inevitable outcome of this deadlock. I found out that 16% of world’s electricity is generated from uranium in nuclear reactors, and uranium is so commonly available on earth’s crust and even in seawater (although the density is very low). The largest deposits of uranium are found in Australia (28%), Kazakhstan (18%) and Canada (12%), so the next round of energy conflict may appear in these areas. Actually, Canada dollar has reached its years high, Russia and China are both actively seeking business relationship with Kazakhstan as their priority, eyeing its mouth-watering energy fields. Two days ago, Australian signed an agreement to export 20,000 metric tons of uranium to China each year, beginning in 2010. Uranium is not a standard commodity like oil, but according the data from the largest miner Cameco, uranium spot price has picked up and never look back since the middle of 2003 (War of Afghanistan?), from merely $10 to almost $41 (03/2006), the company’s stock price resembles the picture. Ultimately, Uranium price will replace oil as the energy price for future, I think.