Canadian wildfires trigger concerns of lumber price surge and supply shortage

Lumber futures have increased to a 7-week high of $513 per thousand feet mark, due to massive wildfires in Canada that are expected to result in a shortage of softwood lumber in the United States. More than 400 wildfires in Canada have already burned 8,000,000 acres of forest. Still, the demand for lumber in the US has been subdued due to the impact of high-interest rates on the housing market. The Federal Reserve hiked rates 10 times since March last year, pushing borrowing costs to their highest since September 2007. As the wildfires continue to ...