ASX uranium shares are suffering at the hands of the market on Friday, with some favourites tumbling as much as 5.5%.
Their woes follow a rough overnight session for some major global uranium names and come amid a shocking session for S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) energy stocks.
Shares in ASX 200 uranium producer Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) are falling 3.9% right now.
Meanwhile, those of Bannerman Energy Ltd (ASX: BMN), Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL), and Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) have slumped 4.6%, 3.3%, and 5.5% respectively.
For comparison, the ASX 200 has slipped 1% right now while the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) has fallen 2.6%.
Let's take a closer look at what might be going wrong for ASX uranium shares today.
What's dragging on ASX uranium shares today?
ASX uranium shares are underperforming on Friday, dumping some of the gains made over the last few weeks.
Today's fall included, the Bannerman share price has gained 46% over the last 30 days. Meanwhile, that of Paladin Energy is up 19%. Thus, their latest slump could partly represent profit taking.
It could also be a response to recent slumps recorded by major global uranium names.
The Canadian-listed Sprott Physical Uranium Trust – home of nearly US$3 billion worth of the energy commodity – fell 2.3% overnight. While that leaves it 5% lower than it closed last week's trade, it's still 15% higher than it was this time last month.
Meanwhile, the US-listed Global X Uranium ETF plunged 4% to its lowest price in nearly two weeks.
Their latest dips follow a rally, seemingly spurred by concerns of a global energy crisis.
A doubling down on nuclear energy – and, therefore, uranium – could be the next frontier for nations impacted by an energy crunch brought on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as my Fool colleague Bernd reports.
And with Australia housing much of the world's uranium resources, ASX shares could be in line to benefit.
