Lumber prices below $640 for the first time in 2022 due to growing inflation

In March 2022, lumber prices were above $1,400, but on May 24, lumber prices fell below the $640 level for the first time in 2022, halving the lumber futures value.
In 2021, prices were less than a third of their high of $1711.20, when it peaked at $448 per 1000 board feet in August.
Growing interest rates and inflation are the main reasons for the cooling of demand for timber and the fall in prices.
At the end of 2021, a 30-Year conventional fixed-rate mortgage was down 3% level, and in May 2022, the rate is 5.50%, meaning home buyers will need to pay high mortgage rates to finance their purchases.
Additionally, the Russia-Ukraine war and supply chain blockages continue to take the food and energy prices to the highest prices in years.

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