ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 6. The average selling price of one pound of uranium was $48.3 from January through September, which is 13 percent more than the average price for the same period in 2022 ($42.6), Trend reports.
Data from Kazatomprom JSC (Kazakhstan's national nuclear company) shows that for the third quarter of 2023, the average price per pound of uranium was $52.93, up 15 percent from the third quarter of 2022 ($46.1).
In addition, the average spot price for the first nine months of 2023 was $55.94, which is 12 percent more than the nine months of 2022 ($49.77).
At the same time, in the third quarter of 2023, the average spot price was $62.63. This figure exceeds the same period indicator ($49.13) by 27 percent.
As the company explains, average prices for both the third quarter and first nine months of 2023 were higher compared to the same periods in 2022 due to higher uranium spot prices.
The company's current contract portfolio is correlated with spot uranium prices. However, deliveries under some long-term contracts included a fixed price component, which was formed in the context of lower spot prices.
As a result, the increase in the average selling price for the reporting period was lower than the increase in prices on the uranium spot market.
On September 29, 2023, Kazakhstan's Kazatomprom presented its strategy for uranium production for 2025. The Board of Directors of Kazatomprom approved the company’s strategy to increase uranium production volumes in 2025 to 100 percent of the level planned under subsoil use contracts.
Kazakhstan ranks second in the world in terms of proven reserves of natural uranium. About 14 percent of all proven world reserves are concentrated in the depths of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The country's total proven reserves are estimated at more than 700,000 tons of uranium.
In 2009, Kazakhstan took first place in uranium production in the world and continues to maintain a leading position in the world market. Kazakhstan produces about 40 percent of the world's uranium production. In 2021, the volume of uranium production amounted to 21,800 tons, according to the results of 2022—21,300 tons.