Uranium had a great year in 2006 prices doubled. But I think that its performance in 2007 could blow the doors off of last year's results!That's why I'm starting to line up my favorite uranium stocks for the coming year. More on that in a moment. First, I'd like to tell you why I'm so bullish on this white-hot metal.Uranium: The Most Recession-ProofMetal I've Ever SeenHey, I'm a pretty bullish guy by nature. But there are certainly troubling signs when it comes to the U.S. As guys like Mike Larson have been telling you, the housing bubble is imploding, Americans are in debt up to their eyeballs, and more.Well, guess what? Recession bounces off uranium like bullets off of Superman.Why? Because uranium is used for power generation, which is mostly immune to economic ups and downs. Even if people can't afford cable TV, they'll pay to keep their lights on. What's more, utilities plan nuclear power plants many years in advance. Once they're up and running, you can't turn them on and off like coal- or gas-fired plants. An atomic power plant demands to be fed!Even during a commodity bull market like we've enjoyed the past few years, other metals like copper have had their ups and downs. But look at uranium it hasn't even flinched! As you can see from my chart (courtesy of UX Consulting Company), uranium hasn't just been climbing over the last two years, it's been accelerating!Uranium's Supply/Demand Squeeze Keeps Getting TighterAbout 16% of the world's electricity came from 440 nuclear reactors in 2005, according to the World Nuclear Association. That required about 77,000 metric tonnes of uranium.But mines only supplied about 48,000 tonnes of that uranium. The rest was covered by inventories, according to data from the Uranium Information Centre. And those inventories, in turn, came mostly from reprocessed Russian nuclear weapons a program that is slated to end in just a few short years.Meanwhile, there are 28 reactors under construction around the world and another 62 being planned:Japan intends to add 11 by 2010.China hopes to add as many as 30 by 2020.India wants to build up to 20 more.Russia's energy goals call for at least 42 new nuclear reactors ... perhaps as many as 58!Don't forget about Uncle Sam, either. While the U.S. has 103 nuclear plants producing 20% of its energy requirements, it's almost embarrassing how old the plants are.In fact, there hasn't been a new U.S. nuclear power plant ordered since the 1970s. But that's about to change! There are 29 pending license requests for the construction of new nuclear power plants in the U.S.And I expect many more new plants as existing facilities reach the end of their design life and U.S. energy needs increase. Experts are predicting that the U.S. will need 50% more electrical power by 2025.All told, scientists estimate that the world will need about 900 more nuclear power plants by 2050!Utilities and other uranium users were already nervous about the supply/demand squeeze.
