Consumer prices continued to break 40-year highs in February due to higher food, gasoline and housing costs. This was the largest year-over-year gain since January 1982. This pace of inflation will likely stay high in the months ahead as Russia-Ukraine crisis continues drive up oil and commodity prices. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported…
In the past month, total mortgage activity, as measured by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Market Composite Index, underwent a series of weekly declines, but increased in the latest week by 8.5 percent. The latest week’s survey is for the week ending March 4. The latest week’s activity consisted of an 8.6 percent increase in…
The prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy climbed 3.6% in January (not seasonally adjusted), according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index was led higher by a 25.4% jump in softwood lumber prices and 9.0% price increases for indoor and outdoor paint. Building materials prices…
Consumer prices continued to accelerate in January due to higher food, electricity and housing costs. This was the largest year-over-year gain since February 1982. This higher-than-expected inflation may push the Federal Reserve to become more aggressive and raise the federal funds rate at a faster pace. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the…
Most analyses of lumber price trends and levels fail to account for inflation because the price data for softwood lumber used in framing applications is generally quoted using the Random Lengths Framing Lumber Composite Price or lumber futures prices–neither of which is inflation-adjusted. Adjusting for inflation shows that, although the historical price differences are smaller…
The prices of goods used in residential construction ex-energy climbed 1.5% in December (not seasonally adjusted), according to the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index was driven higher by large price increases for wood products. Building materials prices increased 15.9% in 2021 and have risen 18.6% since December…
