- Lumber futures rose by the most since April 2020 today in Chicago on concerns that wildfires in western Canada will reduce supply and cause more curtailments at sawmills.
- Lumber for September delivery (LB1:COM) settled +7.7% to $584 per 1,000 board feet, but the price is still more than 60% below the record-high set in May.
- British Columbia, Canada's top exporter of lumber to the U.S., declared a state of emergency, and Canfor Corp. said it would reduce production as the wildfires affect transportation and supply chains.
- Also, "after a year of 'chasing inventory,' the market is now struggling with bulging inventories at many mills in the U.S. and Canada," BMO Capital analyst Mark Wilde says, expecting further curtailments in the next two weeks.
- ETFs: WOOD, CUT, NAIL, XHB, ITB
- Relevant tickers include WY, RFP, PCH, WFG, OTCPK:CFPZF, OTCPK:IFSPF
- Today's gain marks the latest wild gyrations in lumber, which had surged in the past year on a pandemic-fueled construction boom, then surrendered all previous YTD gains after demand eased and supply was replenished.