The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering restricting exports of uranium, titanium, and nickel in retaliation for Western sanctions. Affected by this news, the US stock uranium sector soared.

According to reports, Putin told government ministers at the meeting: “Russia is in a leading position in terms of many strategic raw material reserves.” Since Western sanctions have restricted the export of some Russian goods, “maybe we should consider restricting exports of uranium, titanium, and nickel.” Putin added that these restrictions should not hurt Russia.

By Wednesday's close, Cameco (CCJ.US) and Uranium Royalty (UROY.US) had risen more than 6%, Denison Mining (DNN.US) had risen nearly 7%, Ur-Energy (URG.US) had risen more than 7%, Energy Fuels (UUUU.US) had risen more than 8%, Encore Energy (EU.US) and Centrus Energy (LEU.US) had risen nearly 10%, and Uranium Energy (UEC.US) had risen more than 12%.

Global Uranium X ETF (URA.US) closed up more than 5%.

Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2022, the US and EU have imposed various sanctions on the Russian economy, including sanctions on some metals and mining companies, but many commodities, including nickel, palladium, and uranium, have not been restricted and continue to be shipped to Western markets.

After Putin's speech, three-month nickel futures on the London Metal Exchange rose 2.5% to an intraday high of $16,110 per tonne.