New York, Jan 5, 2026, 10:38 EST — Regular session
- Energy Fuels shares rose about 4% in morning trading, outpacing uranium-focused ETFs.
- Sector buying returned early in 2026 as investors tracked nuclear-fuel and critical-minerals headlines.
- Traders are watching for the next company update on rare earth processing and the timing of quarterly results.
Energy Fuels Inc shares rose about 4% on Monday, lifting the uranium and critical-minerals producer after a volatile start to the year for the sector. The stock was up 4.0% at $17.35 in morning trade, after touching $17.45 at the session high.
The move matters because investors are once again treating uranium-linked equities as a fast-moving proxy for shifting expectations on nuclear power demand, supply constraints and policy support for domestic production. Flows into the group can be abrupt, and early-year positioning tends to amplify price swings.
Energy Fuels sits at the intersection of two themes traders have been leaning into: nuclear-fuel supply and the push to build a non-China rare-earth supply chain. That combination can pull in momentum buyers even when company-specific news is thin.
Uranium-linked names were mostly firmer on Monday, with the Global X Uranium ETF up about 3.1% and Uranium Energy Corp up about 3.9%, while Denison Mines gained about 2.5%; Cameco slipped about 1.2%.
Energy Fuels has also been back in the conversation after weekend coverage highlighted progress at its White Mesa site and its work on dysprosium oxide, a rare earth used in high-performance magnets. 1
In a Dec. 19 statement, the company said its 99.9% purity dysprosium oxide produced at its White Mesa Mill in Utah met initial quality assurance and quality control benchmarks for a major South Korean automotive manufacturer’s permanent-magnet supply chain. “Production of dysprosium oxide that meets stringent magnet specifications is yet another key milestone,” Chief Executive Mark S. Chalmers said. 2
The rare-earth angle matters for Energy Fuels because dysprosium is a “heavy” rare earth used to improve magnet performance in electric vehicles and other industrial applications, and supply outside China is limited. Energy Fuels has pitched its processing plans as part of a broader effort to rebuild U.S.-linked critical-minerals capacity.
On the uranium side, price signals remain a key read-through for sentiment, even though uranium is typically sold via negotiated contracts rather than on an exchange. Cameco’s industry-average spot price, based on month-end quotes from UxC and TradeTech, was $81.55 per pound at Dec. 31. 3
Investors have also been watching for project and permitting milestones across the uranium complex. Denison said on Jan. 2 it was ready to make a final investment decision and commence construction of its Phoenix in-situ recovery project, a mining method that dissolves uranium underground and pumps it to the surface, pending final approvals. 4
But the setup carries familiar risks. Uranium equities can reverse quickly if contracting momentum slows, if commodity expectations soften, or if companies face delays in ramping production and processing — especially in rare earths, where qualification and scale-up can take longer than traders assume.
