Investors are piling into the Australian sharemarket’s uranium sector in an attempt to front-run a spike in prices as the world’s largest physical uranium fund readies a war chest to splurge on the nuclear fuel.

Uranium stocks – among the most shorted stocks on the ASX – have roared higher this week after Toronto-based asset manager Sprott announced it sold $US100 million ($153 million) worth of units in its physical uranium trust to broker Canaccord Genuity.