Owners and operators of United States civilian nuclear reactors paid a weighted-average $76.01 per pound for uranium bought under spot contracts in 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration Uranium Marketing Annual Report.

Spot purchases covered only 13 percent of deliveries. The other 87 percent arrived under long-term contracts at a weighted-average $55.91 per pound, leaving a gap of about $20 per pound between the two purchase routes. Operators signed 22 new purchase contracts during the year covering 4 million pounds delivered in 2025 at a weighted-average $70.46 per pound.

Enrichment costs climbed faster than uranium itself. Operators bought 13 million separative work units from four sellers at an average $108.70 per unit, up 11 percent from $97.66 in 2024. Material of United States origin accounted for 23 percent of that volume, with Russia at 26 percent, France at 18 percent, the United Kingdom at 14 percent and the Netherlands at 8 percent.

Deliveries leaned heavily on imports. Canada supplied 32 percent of the uranium delivered in 2025, Kazakhstan 28 percent and Australia 15 percent. Material of United States origin accounted for 7 percent of deliveries, down from 8 percent in 2024.

Fuel assemblies loaded into United States reactors during 2025 contained 40.9 million pounds of uranium concentrate equivalent, 15 percent below the 48.1 million pounds loaded in 2024. Total commercial uranium inventories closed 2025 at 170 million pounds, a 9 percent increase over the prior year, with supplier-held stocks up 27 percent.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration - https://www.eia.gov/uranium/marketing/