The Kazakh crisis is only one threat hanging over the uranium market

KAZAKHSTAN IS OFTEN called the Saudi Arabia of uranium. In fact its market share, at more than 40% of the world’s nuclear fuel, is not far off the share in the oil market of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia combined. So when unrest, followed by harsh repression, shook the country early this month, buyers of the metal shuddered. Spot uranium prices jumped by 8% on January 5th alone, to $45 per pound, according to UxC, a data provider. With protests now quashed, the market has settled. Nevertheless, the commodity, which is often dubbed “yellowcake”, seems set for a turbulent decade.