US energy data agency, after staff cuts, delays reports on uranium, international outlook

By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. government's energy statistics arm, which has experienced staff cuts this year, said on Thursday it will delay publishing key energy data on uranium as well as its international outlook this year.

The Energy Information Administration said its annual uranium marketing report that had been scheduled to come out in June will be published in September, while its International Energy Outlook may not be published until January, an agency spokesperson told Reuters.

The EIA did not respond to questions about whether the staff cuts were the cause of the delays.

The EIA has also proposed to discontinue a solar energy report on photovoltaic module shipments, according to a notice in the Federal Register, because it no longer believes the value of the data "exceeds the burden of collecting and publishing it."

The EIA has lost a substantial number of staff due to federal job cuts and buyouts. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that the EIA was set to lose over 100 employees this year, around 40% of its workforce.

Bloomberg first reported on the report delays.

An EIA spokesperson said the International Energy Outlook likely won’t be published in 2025 but that "doesn’t necessarily mean we’re canceling this iteration" - just that it may publish it in January instead of October.

The EIA publishes weekly, monthly and annual data on oil and gas output, crude and fuel inventories, and price forecasts, all used by traders and energy companies as indicators of supply and demand. The reports often move global oil prices.

Sources told Reuters earlier this year that staffing losses would lead the EIA to change publication schedules and reassess which reports it would continue to publish.