Lumber Prices Hit 2022 Low as Homebuilder Sentiment Collapses
Lumber prices hit an all-time low after homebuilder sentiment tumbled for the twelfth straight month in December.
The building commodity peaked at $1,336 per thousand board feet in late February, but has settled to around $379, as of Dec. 22, to its lowest level since the pandemic in June 2020.
The price of lumber is down by 72 percent from this earlier year’s peak, largely due to rising mortgage rates, a decline in housing activity, low builder confidence, and fears of recession, which together have lowered sales.
“CME lumber futures have been, by far, the worst-performing commodity futures in 2022,” Walter Kunisch Jr., senior analyst at HTS Commodities, told Barron’s….