This is from Dow Jones Newswires:

Shares of Australian uranium companies fell sharply Friday after the world's top uranium producer, Kazatomprom, reported higher first-half output and raised its production guidance for the year.

Changes to production expectations at Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan's state uranium company, reverberate through the global market given it accounts for roughly a quarter of world uranium mine output.

Earlier this year, prices for the nuclear fuel surged to a 16-year high in part due to concerns that Kazatomprom would fall short of its production targets. The miner has cited difficulties sourcing enough sulfuric acid, used to leach uranium from ore.

On Thursday, the company said it now expects to produce between 22,500 metric tons and 23,500 tons of uranium in 2024, up from an earlier estimate of between 21,000 tons and 22,500 tons. That extra uranium would top up the company's inventories, Kazatomprom said.

In Sydney afternoon on Friday, shares in Paladin Energy, which recently restarted its Namibia mine and agreed to buy Canada's Fission Uranium, were down by around 11%.

Boss Energy, which has reopened a mine in Australia and bought a stake in a Texas operation that's also restarting, was down by roughly 13%. Deep Yellow and Bannerman Energy were down by 18% and 14%, respectively.