# Uranium: Trading

A secretive market of long-term contracts

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/trading/

What this tab covers How and where it is bought and sold: who buys and sells, exchanges and benchmarks, contract types, the big trading houses and how prices are discovered.

Uranium has no deep futures market. Most is sold under long-term contracts between miners and utilities, with base-escalated or market-related prices. Spot and term prices are assessed by specialist reporters such as UxC and TradeTech, and CME lists a small cash-settled U3O8 future based on UxC. Physical funds such as Sprott Physical Uranium Trust and Yellow Cake plc buy and store U3O8, adding a financial layer to a thin spot market. Conversion and enrichment are bought separately, enrichment in separative work units (SWU).

#### Where it is bought (buyers)

- Nuclear utilities in the US, France, China, Korea, Japan and India buy U3O8, conversion, enrichment and fabrication separately or as fuel bundles
- Financial vehicles (Sprott Physical Uranium Trust, Yellow Cake plc) buy and hold physical U3O8
- India's Department of Atomic Energy buys under government-to-government arrangements for safeguarded reactors

#### Where it is sold (sellers)

- Kazatomprom, Cameco, Orano, Uranium One, CGN, CNNC and Navoiyuran sell from Kazakhstan, Canada, Namibia, Uzbekistan and Niger
- Namibia supplied 71% and Niger 19% of world uranium ore and concentrate exports by value in 2023 (UN Comtrade, HS 261210); most trade in refined forms is recorded under other codes
- Converters and enrichers (Cameco, Orano, Urenco, Rosatom TENEX, CNNC) sell services

#### Exchanges and benchmarks

| Venue | Contract | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **CME Group (NYMEX)** | UxC Uranium U3O8 futures, 250 lb | Cash-settled on the UxC month-end spot price; thinly traded |
| **Over-the-counter** | Spot and term U3O8 deliveries at converters (Cameco, Orano, ConverDyn sites) | Most physical trade is bilateral, through brokers |

#### Contract types

- Multi-year long-term contracts with base-escalated or market-related pricing, often with floors and ceilings
- Spot contracts for delivery within a year
- Book transfers of U3O8 held at conversion facilities
- Separate contracts for conversion, enrichment (SWU) and fabrication

#### Top trading houses

- Traxys
- Curzon Resources
- brokers Evolution Markets and Numerco

#### How prices are discovered

- UxC and TradeTech spot and long-term price indicators
- Cameco month-end publication of those indicators
- S&P Global Commodity Insights spot assessments (used by the Energy Institute)

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/index.md)
- [Energy overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/energy/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/correlation/index.md)
- [How energy resides](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/resides/index.md)
- [Abundance](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/abundance/index.md)
- [Fluctuation in time](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/time/index.md)
- [Across the Earth](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/geography/index.md)
- [Impact on nature](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/nature/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/overview/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/cycles/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/uranium/links/index.md)