Dive summary:
- Whether it is just evidence of the recent past or a portent for the future remains unclear, but the overall cost of construction materials was flat between April and May and is up 0.8% from May 2012, according to the latest federal government figures.
- Softwood lumber fell 8.2% from April prices – its biggest percentage drop for a month in 33 years, but it remains 16.8% ahead of the year-before mark.
- Iron and steel fell for the fourth month in the past five and are down 10.7% in the past 12 months, but crude is up 16.5% in a year, and products derived from it reflect that.
From the article:
"This could be a period of calm before the storm," said [ABC Chief Economist Anirban] Basu. "With U.S. equity markets rallying, and given fears that the U.S. bond market is overbought, there is a possibility that money will come racing out of those categories and into commodities." ...
