Rob Chang reports the sentiment of companies attending the conference was positive, which is refreshing considering the current uncertainty in the market. Everyone was pointing to the upcoming supply/demand deficit, when it is going to occur, and how they are positioning themselves for that recovery. Depending on who the company is, they may be more conservative than others, but generally speaking it is about managing the businesses properly in advance of future growth.\n\nCompanies at the conference estimate that a uranium deficit will come sometime in the early 2020s, while analysts think it will happen between 2018 and 2021. While no one can predict exactly how high the uranium price will get when the deficit does come, Chang said he expects an increase similar to what was seen in the mid-2000s. \nThe increase will likely jump $5 to $10 every week, as happened before, because it just has to happen that way. He is not sure exactly when this will happen, but there frankly is just not enough supply. It is a very thin market, and once you get two, three, four utilities trying to buy at the same time, you are going to see large jumps.\n\nAccording to Cameco, one reason a deficit is expected is that U.S. utilities requirements are expected to open up after 2016. Corroborating that claim, speaker Scott Melbye cited U.S. Department of Energy data that shows that U.S. utility requirements will be substantial in 2017 and 2018. Even today he said he is seeing many U.S. utilities and their counterparts in Europe and Asia in the market for spot uranium. \n\nOn a different note, Melbye highlighted a few possible geopolitical events that could have a significant effect on the uranium market. For instance, Russian sanctions, which until now have mostly affected oil and gas relationships, are now shifting closer to the nuclear fuel market. Then there is the Islamic extremism, which is impacting Niger, the fourth-largest uranium producer.
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