COM - Lumber price boom may finally be easing off historic highs

Benchmark lumber prices (LB1:COM) fell for the first time in 18 weeks, a potential sign that a historic rally may be slowing, Bloomberg reports.The Random Lengths price of Western spruce-pine-fir fell 1.8% this week to $1,600 per 1,000 board ft., Southern yellow pine two-by-fours tumbled 5.8%, and the Random Lengths Composite edged 1% below a record high, CIBC analyst Hamir Patel says.The decline comes alongside a drop in lumber futures, which have fallen as much as 30% from an all-time high reached earlier this month, as Bloomberg says sawmills may be catching up with North American homebuilding demand that propelled a powerful months-long rally.ETFs: [[WOOD]], [[CUT]], [[NAIL]], [[XHB]]But even with signs that home renovations are easing and U.S. lumber supplies are rising, Patel says demand is still strong, which could keep prices above $1,000 per 1,000 board ft. through the rest of this year.Despite the recent pullback, Janney analyst Tyler

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Lumber price boom may finally be easing off historic highs