Uranium spot prices held in the $78 to $85 per pound range through the first half of 2026, according to Sprott Asset Management's uranium market update, as global primary mine production continued to supply approximately 85% of total reactor fuel demand. The supply gap of roughly 15% is being covered by secondary supplies, including downblending of enriched material and drawdowns from utility and government inventories.

Global uranium mine production is estimated at 162 million pounds in 2025, while reactor demand reached 191 million pounds. The 29-million-pound deficit reflects the long construction and permitting timelines required for new mine development, contrasted with accelerating reactor capacity additions driven by nuclear energy's role in electricity decarbonization strategies.

US nuclear capacity is scheduled to increase as several previously shuttered reactors are restarted under federal support programs. Constellation Energy's Three Mile Island Unit 1 restart was completed in late 2024, and additional restart applications are under NRC review for plants in Wisconsin and Michigan. New small modular reactor projects in multiple states are in licensing phases.

Uranium production in Kazakhstan, managed by Kazatomprom, represents approximately 40% of global output. Logistics constraints and geopolitical complexity affecting Central Asian supply chains have maintained investor attention on non-Kazakh supply sources, including US, Canadian, and Australian production.

US domestic uranium production reached 1.4 million pounds in 2025, a recovery from near-zero output in 2020 but still well below the 40-million-pound domestic production peak recorded in 1980.

Source: Sprott Asset Management -- https://sprott.com/investment-strategies/physical-uranium/uranium-market-update-2026