U.S. lumber futures have risen to a seven-week high of $513 per thousand feet as massive wildfires in Canada are expected to lead to a shortage of softwood lumber in the United States.
More than 400 wildfires in Canada have burned 8 million acres of forest. Still, demand for lumber in the US has been subdued due to the impact of high interest rates on the housing market. The Fed has raised interest rates 10 times since last March, pushing up borrowing costs to their highest level since September 2007.