Uranium Price 2026
By Axis Intelligence Research
Co-author: Aidan Jad | Last updated: October 2, 2026 | License: CC BY 4.0
Prices verified on October 2, 2026. Month-end figures through September 30, 2026. Review trigger: the next Cameco month-end publication, or a new EIA or Euratom Supply Agency annual price release.
The uranium spot price closed September 2026 at $89.63 per pound of U3O8, while the long-term contract price held at $96.50/lb, according to Cameco’s industry-average price series built from UxC and TradeTech month-end quotes. That $96.50 is the highest long-term reading in the series, which starts in 1996.
Quick Answer: What Is the Uranium Price Today?
The uranium price is $89.63/lb U3O8 on the spot market and $96.50/lb on long-term contracts as of September 30, 2026. But US reactor owners actually paid an average of $58.46/lb for 2025 deliveries, per the EIA. According to Axis Intelligence Research, that leaves a 28.7% Uranium Repricing Gap (URG) still to close as older contracts roll off.
Key Findings
- The long-term uranium price reached $96.50/lb in August and September 2026, above the prior series high of $95.00 set between May 2007 and March 2008 (Cameco, 2026).
- The spot uranium price rose 8.5% year over year to $89.63/lb, while the term price rose 16.3% over the same twelve months (Axis Intelligence Research calculation on Cameco data).
- US nuclear operators paid a weighted average of $58.46/lb U3O8e for 2025 deliveries, 11% above 2024 (EIA, August 2026).
- According to Axis Intelligence Research, the Uranium Repricing Gap stood at 28.7% in 2025, down from 33.2% in 2024: utilities still pay well under the market term price.
- Axis Intelligence Research estimates that natural uranium now costs about $5.26 per MWh of nuclear output at the term price, inside a front-end fuel bill of roughly $10.61/MWh.
Uranium Spot Price vs Long-Term Price: Where Are They Now?
Uranium does not trade like copper or crude. There is no deep exchange order book; buyers and sellers sign bilateral contracts, and two price reporters (UxC and TradeTech) publish assessments that the market uses as reference points. Cameco averages the two at each month end, which is why its series is the most widely used free reference for the uranium price per pound.
Uranium price per pound, last 13 month-ends
| Month-end | Spot price ($/lb U3O8) | Long-term price ($/lb U3O8) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | 89.63 | 96.50 | Cameco |
| Aug 31, 2026 | 89.68 | 96.50 | Cameco |
| Jul 31, 2026 | 86.38 | 95.50 | Cameco |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 85.00 | 95.50 | Cameco |
| May 31, 2026 | 84.18 | 94.00 | Cameco |
| Apr 30, 2026 | 86.35 | 91.50 | Cameco |
| Mar 31, 2026 | 84.25 | 91.50 | Cameco |
| Feb 28, 2026 | 86.95 | 90.00 | Cameco |
| Jan 31, 2026 | 94.28 | 89.00 | Cameco |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 81.55 | 86.50 | Cameco |
| Nov 30, 2025 | 75.80 | 86.00 | Cameco |
| Oct 31, 2025 | 80.00 | 85.00 | Cameco |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 82.63 | 83.00 | Cameco |
Year to date, the spot uranium price is up 9.9% from $81.55 at the end of 2025, and the term price is up 11.6% from $86.50. The nine-month averages run at $87.41/lb spot and $93.33/lb term.
The shape of 2026 matters more than the level. Spot opened the year with a $94.28 spike, slid to a $84.18 low in May, and has since recovered. The term indicator never paused: it rose in six of nine months and did not fall once. When the long-term price leads and spot follows, the buying is coming from utilities filling reactor requirements years out, not from financial players chasing a monthly print.
How far is uranium from its all-time high?
The highest spot entry in Cameco’s series is $136.00/lb, in June 2007. Today’s $89.63 sits 34.1% below that nominal peak. The term price tells the opposite story: it has already cleared its 2007 to 2008 ceiling of $95.00. In that earlier cycle, spot ran far ahead of term. In this one, term sits $6.87 above spot. That inversion is the clearest sign that this market is being set by long-dated fuel contracting rather than speculative spot buying.
What Do Nuclear Utilities Actually Pay for Uranium?
The headline uranium price and the price on a utility’s fuel invoice are different numbers. The EIA 2025 Uranium Marketing Annual Report, published in August 2026, surveys every US civilian reactor owner and reports what was actually paid on delivered material.
US owners and operators bought 46.9 million pounds U3O8e in 2025, down from 55.9 million in 2024, at a weighted-average price of $58.46/lb. Long-term contracts carried 87% of that volume at $55.91/lb. Spot contracts carried 13% at $76.01/lb for U3O8 (the all-material spot figure in EIA Tables S1b and 7 is $75.83; we publish both rather than pick one). That $19.92 spread between spot-contract and long-term-contract deliveries is the value of having locked in early.
Uranium price paid by contract type and pricing mechanism, 2025 deliveries
| Contract or pricing basis | Price paid ($/lb U3O8e) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| All US purchases (weighted average) | 58.46 | EIA Table S1b |
| Long-term contracts | 55.91 | EIA Table 7 |
| Spot contracts (U3O8 only) | 76.01 | EIA Table 7 |
| Contract-specified (fixed and base-escalated) | 57.19 | EIA Table 5 |
| Spot-market-indexed pricing | 74.38 | EIA Table 5 |
| Other pricing mechanisms | 58.03 | EIA Table 5 |
| New contracts signed in 2025 (22 contracts) | 70.46 | EIA Table 8 |
Contract structure explains most of the spread. As Cameco describes its own contracting framework, base-escalated contracts lock a term price at signing and escalate it with inflation, while market-related contracts reference spot or term prices near delivery. A utility holding base-escalated contracts signed in 2019 or 2020, when the annual mean term price ran from $31.75 to $34.62, is still taking delivery at a fraction of today’s quote.
The dispersion inside one market
EIA’s octile table is the most underused statistic in uranium pricing. The cheapest eighth of 2025 US deliveries averaged $33.55/lb; the most expensive eighth averaged $93.17/lb. According to Axis Intelligence Research, that is a 2.78x spread for the same commodity delivered in the same year. By purchaser, the lowest-paying quartile of utilities averaged $43.90 and the highest-paying quartile $78.03. Two reactors on the same grid can carry fuel costs that differ by tens of dollars per pound purely because of when their procurement team signed.
The Uranium Repricing Gap (URG): How Far Utility Costs Still Have to Climb
This is the Axis original metric for this page, and the number we expect the trade press to quote.
Uranium Repricing Gap (URG) = (1 − EIA weighted-average price paid by US utilities ÷ Cameco annual mean long-term price) × 100
A positive URG means utilities are still paying below the market term price, so their average cost has room (and contractual pressure) to rise as old agreements expire. A negative URG means the opposite: legacy contracts are holding utility costs above a falling market.
URG by year, 2003 to 2025
| Year | Mean LT price ($/lb) | US price paid ($/lb) | URG (%) | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 81.96 | 58.46 | 28.7 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2024 | 78.88 | 52.71 | 33.2 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2023 | 58.20 | 43.80 | 24.7 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2022 | 49.75 | 39.08 | 21.4 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2021 | 36.81 | 33.91 | 7.9 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2020 | 34.62 | 33.27 | 3.9 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2018 | 30.38 | 38.81 | -27.8 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2016 | 39.00 | 42.43 | -8.8 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2014 | 46.46 | 46.16 | 0.6 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2012 | 60.12 | 54.99 | 8.5 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2010 | 60.92 | 49.29 | 19.1 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2008 | 82.50 | 45.88 | 44.4 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2007 | 90.83 | 32.78 | 63.9 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2005 | 30.66 | 14.36 | 53.2 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
| 2003 | 12.10 | 10.81 | 10.7 | Cameco; EIA; Axis calc |
Every year from 2003 to 2025 is in the CSV download.
Read the history and a pattern appears. The gap peaked at 63.9% in 2007, when the term price averaged $90.83 but utilities were still taking deliveries under contracts written in 2003 to 2005, when annual mean term prices ran from $12.10 to $30.66. It then took roughly seven years of contract roll-off to close: 30.0% in 2009, 8.5% in 2012, 0.6% in 2014. By 2018 the gap had gone deeply negative at -27.8%, as utilities paid $38.81 for uranium the market valued at $30.38.
According to Axis Intelligence Research, the current cycle has run the same play in fast-forward. The gap went from 3.9% in 2020 to 33.2% in 2024. It eased to 28.7% in 2025 as higher-priced deliveries arrived, but with the term price at $96.50 in September 2026, the market reference has moved further away from the $58.46 utilities averaged last year. The URG cannot be computed for 2026 until EIA publishes 2026 delivery prices; we will not estimate the numerator.
What it means: if the 2007 to 2014 roll-off is any guide, utility fuel invoices have years of catch-up left in them, regardless of where spot trades next month.
Uranium Prices in Europe vs the United States
The Euratom Supply Agency’s 2025 annual report publishes the equivalent of EIA’s survey for EU utilities, which bought about 20% of global uranium requirements in 2025.
| Price index, 2025 deliveries | USD/lb U3O8 | EUR/kgU | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU multiannual contracts | 54.70 | 131.37 | ESA |
| EU “MAC-3” (contracts signed or repriced in prior 3 years) | 69.01 | 165.76 | ESA |
| EU spot contracts | 70.33 | 168.92 | ESA |
| US all purchases | 58.46 | n/a | EIA |
| US long-term contracts | 55.91 | n/a | EIA |
| UxC spot average, 2025 (as reported by ESA) | 72.94 | n/a | ESA |
| UxC long-term average, 2025 (as reported by ESA) | 81.50 | n/a | ESA |
European utilities paid $54.70/lb on multiannual contracts, close to the US long-term figure of $55.91. The MAC-3 index is the more telling number: contracts written or repriced in the last three years already average $69.01, which is where legacy books are heading. Only 6% of EU deliveries came through spot contracts, and those cost $15.63 more per pound than multiannual deliveries.
Origin still moves the price. In the US, Canadian-origin uranium averaged $56.95/lb in 2025 and Kazakh-origin $57.92, while Australian-origin cost $64.24 and Namibian-origin $64.39. US-origin material averaged $44.97 against $59.51 for foreign-origin material. In Europe, Russian-origin uranium still supplied 15.98% of deliveries, and ESA notes that the US ban on Russian uranium imports allows waivers only until the end of 2027.
How Much Does Uranium Add to the Cost of Nuclear Electricity?
This section answers the question power buyers, data center developers, and regulators keep asking: what does a $96.50 uranium price do to a megawatt-hour?
The World Nuclear Association publishes the physical recipe for 1 kg of light-water reactor fuel: 8.9 kg of U3O8, conversion of 7.5 kgU, 7.3 SWU of enrichment, and fabrication priced at $300/kg (a September 2021 figure; no newer public number exists). At 45,000 MWd/t burn-up, that kilogram yields 360,000 kWh.
That makes the uranium content of nuclear power concrete: 8.9 kg is 19.62 lb of U3O8 per kg of fuel, or 0.0545 lb per MWh.
Axis Intelligence Research front-end fuel cost estimate
| Basis | Uranium only ($/MWh) | Full front-end fuel ($/MWh) | Inputs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term market (Sep 2026 U; 2025 LT conversion and SWU) | 5.26 | 10.61 | $96.50/lb; $51.38/kgU; $169.83/SWU; $300/kg |
| Spot market (Sep 2026 U; 2025 spot conversion and SWU) | 4.89 | 10.98 | $89.63/lb; $69.83/kgU; $187.50/SWU; $300/kg |
| What US utilities paid in 2025 (U and SWU) | 3.19 | 7.29 | $58.46/lb; $51.38/kgU; $108.70/SWU; $300/kg |
| WNA reference, September 2021 prices | n/a | 4.62 | WNA $1,663/kg |
Formula: front-end cost per kg = (19.6211 × uranium price) + (7.5 × conversion price) + (7.3 × SWU price) + 300, divided by 360 MWh. On the term basis that is $3,818.5 per kg of fuel, of which uranium is 49.6%. Conversion and SWU prices are 2025 annual averages from UxC as reported by ESA; US SWU is the EIA 2025 figure. Axis Intelligence Research labels these estimates, because they mix price dates.
Axis Intelligence Research estimates that the replacement cost of front-end nuclear fuel has risen from about $4.62/MWh at 2021 prices to $10.61/MWh at today’s term prices: more than double. For a merchant reactor or a hyperscaler signing a long-dated nuclear PPA, that is real money. For context against total generation cost, it is still small, which is why WNA notes that nuclear levelized costs barely move with fuel price compared with gas plants.
What Moves the Uranium Price in 2026?
Uncovered utility demand. At the end of 2025, US operators had 174 million pounds under contract for 2026 to 2035 and 186 million pounds of unfilled requirements, out of 360 million pounds of maximum anticipated need (EIA Tables 10 to 12). According to Axis Intelligence Research, 51.7% of the next decade’s US requirement is not yet bought. That unfilled block is the fuel under the term price.
Enrichment and conversion bottlenecks. US utilities paid $108.70 per SWU in 2025, up from $97.66, and Russia still supplied 26% of US-purchased enrichment. UxC’s long-term SWU average reached $169.83 per ESA. When enrichment is tight, enrichers prefer more uranium feed (higher tails assays), which raises uranium demand per kilogram of fuel.
Inventories, not panic. US commercial inventories rose to 170 million pounds at the end of 2025, with utilities holding 118 million. EU utilities bought almost 25% more uranium than they loaded in 2025. Large stocks are why spot has not chased term: utilities can wait out spot spikes and sign term instead.
New nuclear demand. Hyperscaler nuclear offtake and reactor restarts add long-dated demand that shows up in term contracting first. We track that pipeline in our nuclear energy for data centers statistics and the AI data center tracker; fleet-level context lives in our nuclear energy statistics.
Uranium Buying Guidance by Buyer Type
Utilities and fuel buyers. The URG says your average cost is still converging upward. New 2025 US contracts already averaged $70.46/lb, and EU MAC-3 contracts $69.01. Budget fuel at the term price, not at your current book average.
Data center and corporate nuclear offtakers. Ask your counterparty how its fuel is hedged. A plant with legacy base-escalated contracts has a structural cost edge for several years; one buying spot-indexed fuel does not. Our Big Tech clean energy procurement data shows how much of the nuclear PPA wave is now long-dated.
Investors watching the uranium price chart. The spot price is the visible number, but the term price is where utilities transact most of their volume. A rising term price with flat spot, as in 2026, is a contracting signal, not a momentum signal.
Uranium Price FAQ
Why is the long-term uranium price higher than the spot price?
Because utilities pay a premium for guaranteed future delivery from reliable mines. In September 2026 the term price of $96.50/lb sat $6.87 above spot at $89.63. Term above spot signals that buyers worry more about supply in 2029 to 2035 than about this quarter.
What price do nuclear power plants pay for uranium?
US reactor owners paid a weighted average of $58.46/lb U3O8e for 2025 deliveries, per the EIA. That is far below the market quote because 87% of volume came through long-term contracts, averaging $55.91, many signed when prices were lower.
Is uranium more expensive now than in 2007?
On term contracts, yes: the $96.50 long-term price of September 2026 exceeds the $95.00 peak of 2007 to 2008 in nominal dollars. On spot, no: today’s $89.63 is 34.1% below the $136.00 June 2007 record.
How much uranium does a nuclear reactor use per megawatt-hour?
About 0.0545 lb of U3O8 per MWh, based on World Nuclear Association fuel-cycle quantities (8.9 kg U3O8 per kg of fuel, 360,000 kWh per kg). At the September 2026 term price, that uranium costs about $5.26 per MWh.
Does a higher uranium price make nuclear electricity expensive?
Only modestly. Axis Intelligence Research estimates total front-end fuel at $10.61/MWh on term prices, with uranium about half of that. Capital costs dominate nuclear generation cost, so a large uranium move shifts the total bill far less than a gas price move shifts a gas plant.
Why do utilities in different countries pay different uranium prices?
Contract vintage, origin, and pricing formula. EU utilities paid $54.70/lb on multiannual contracts in 2025 versus $55.91 for US long-term contracts, while recently signed EU contracts averaged $69.01. In the US, Australian-origin uranium cost $64.24 and Canadian-origin $56.95.
Methodology
Market prices. Spot and long-term prices are Cameco’s month-end industry averages of UxC and TradeTech assessments, in US dollars per pound U3O8. Long-term prices before May 2004 are TradeTech only. Cameco dates its earliest rows to the first of the month; we keep its dates.
Prices paid. US figures come from EIA Form EIA-858 survey results in the 2025 Uranium Marketing Annual Report; EU figures from the Euratom Supply Agency 2025 annual report. Both are weighted averages of delivered material and are not adjusted for inflation.
Uranium Repricing Gap (URG). Annual mean of twelve Cameco month-end long-term prices, compared with EIA’s weighted-average price paid for the same delivery year. Scope note: EIA prices cover US civilian reactor owners only, and EIA’s total includes the U3O8-equivalent uranium component of UF6 and enriched uranium purchases.
Fuel cost per MWh. Physical quantities from the World Nuclear Association front-end table; uranium at Cameco September 30, 2026 prices; conversion and SWU at 2025 averages; fabrication at WNA’s September 2021 figure. These are labeled estimates. All arithmetic was run in Python and every result appears in the CSV with its formula.
Discrepancies published, not reconciled. EIA’s text gives a 2025 spot-contract price of $76.01 (U3O8 only) while its total-material table gives $75.83. Both rows are in the dataset.
Download the Dataset
uranium-price-2026.csv contains 394 rows: monthly spot and long-term uranium prices from January 2017 to September 2026, the full URG series from 2003, EIA and ESA price-paid breakdowns, and every Axis calculation with its formula. Each row carries source organization, document, URL, retrieval date, a primary-source flag, and an Axis-calculated flag. Licensed CC BY 4.0.
Cite this page: Axis Intelligence Research and Aidan Jad. (2026). Uranium Price 2026: Spot, Long-Term and the Uranium Repricing Gap. Axis Intelligence Research. https://axis-intelligence.com/uranium-price/