USEC's shares up on signs of uranium demand

NEW YORK, April 3 (Reuters) - Shares in uranium enrichment company USEC Inc (USU.N: Quote, Profile, Research) rose more than 28 percent on Thursday, after strong results by a European rival and a favorable U.S. government report on the depleted uranium stockpile.

In afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, USEC stock was $1.16, or 28.2 percent, higher at $5.28.

"Urenco, its main competitor, released results and its comments were generally positive and suggested growing demand," said Mark Manley, an alternative energy analyst at Natixis Bleichroeder.

Also Urenco, which is owned by the governments of Germany, the Netherlands and Britain, said it had raised capital and "USEC needs to raise additional capital, so it bodes well for USEC," he said.

Manley also said USEC issued a statement praising the U.S. Department of Energy for its recent decision to manage the stockpile of depleted uranium.

"Responsible management of this inventory will allow the department to support nuclear power's domestic growth in a way that leads not only to new nuclear reactors being constructed but also to a stronger, more diverse domestic nuclear fuel industry," USEC's statement said. (Reporting by Steve James, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)