London-listed uranium fund Yellow Cake said on Monday that activity in the uranium market should pick up in the near term, following US President Donald Trump’s decision at the weekend to steer clear from imposing import tariffs on uranium.
The Section 232 investigation, which started early last year, has created substantial uncertainty in the global uranium market and “severely restricted” activity, Yellow Cake CEO Andrew Liebenberg said in a statement.
“We view the decision that no new trade restrictions will be implemented at this stage as positive, and likely to support a return to more normal levels of activity.
Trump has rejected the recommendation by the Commerce Department to require US power producers to source up to 25% of their uranium from domestic mines, and instead created a working group to review the country’s nuclear fuel supply chain.
"We note the creation of a new working group which will look at the full nuclear fuel supply chain in the US and report back on its findings. We therefore expect a more measured return to market activity in the near term and remain highly confident in the long-term price outlook for uranium, and therefore in the Yellow Cake investment model," Liebenberg stated.
Junior US uranium miners Energy Fuels and Ur-Energy have lobbied for quotas under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, arguing that imports, particularly from State-owned companies in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, are a threat to national security.
Canadian and Australian miners, which Energy Fuels and Ur-Energy describe as ally producers, have welcomed the decision by Trump.