Why are these 5 ASX uranium shares racing higher again today?

ASX uranium shares are rocketing higher again on Friday.

Bernd Struben

Author bio Bernd Struben earned his BA in economics from the University of Michigan in 1991, with post-graduate studies in environmental economics at the University of Connecticut. Over the years he’s written about and analysed the tourism industry in the Caribbean; Europe’s commercial real estate markets; and, since moving to Australia in 2010, global and Aussie share markets. Bernd studies geopolitical and macroeconomic trends, alongside sector and company specific data, to gauge what he believes could be tomorrow's best investments. In his free time, you might find Bernd at the beach with his family or working on his next science fiction novel. Areas of expertise Australian and global share markets Macroeconomic and geopolitical trends Real estate Education Economics, University of Michigan Favorite investment quote "The four most dangerous words in investing are: 'This time it's different." — Sir John Templeton

Published February 2, 2024 12:21 pm AEDT

ASX uranium shares are leaping higher today.

Again.

Here's how these leading uranium stocks are tracking in late-morning trade on Friday:

Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) shares are up 5.8%
Bannerman Energy Ltd (ASX: BMN) shares are up 7.3%
Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) shares are up 16.4%
Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) shares are up 6.4%
Alligator Energy Ltd (ASX: AGE) shares are up 5.9%

For some context, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 1% at this same time.

Here's why ASX uranium shares are racing ahead of the benchmark again today.

A miner stands in front of an excavator at a mine site. — Image source: Getty Images

Uranium supply crunch

The answer can be found in any Economics 101 textbook.

Namely supply and demand.

Uranium demand is on the rise. And it's forecast to continue growing strongly long-term as more nations turn to nuclear energy for reliable baseload power without the accompanying carbon emissions.

On the supply side, today's big boost for ASX uranium shares comes following an overnight fourth-quarter operations update from Kazatomprom.

Operating out of Kazakhstan, Kazatomprom is the world's top uranium producer. In January the company sent uranium prices soaring after it revised its 2024 production guidance.

It said this was "primarily driven by challenges associated with the availability of sulphuric acid, a crucial component in the ISR uranium mining method".

In last night's quarterly update, the company reiterated that those supply issues will create challenges to meeting its uranium production goals.

The growing imbalance between supply and demand has been a boon for ASX uranium shares, with yellow cake now rocketing to just over US$106 per pound. That's up from around US$50 per pound at the end of 2023 and close to 16-year highs.

How have these ASX uranium shares performed over six months?

While uranium prices have been rising for some time, the rush to snap up companies active in the sector really began to take off around six months ago.

That means that investors who bought any of the five above-listed ASX uranium shares back then will have achieved some truly smashing half-year gains.

Here's how they've performed over six months:

Paladin shares have gained 75%
Bannerman shares have gained 128%
Deep Yellow shares have gained 134%
Boss Energy shares have gained 107%
Alligator shares have gained 100%

Boom!

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