Dive Brief:

• The mid-month price index data from the government is out, and they show that construction materials rose 0.1% from November to December and 1.3% over the previous 12 months.
• The big number always hides some bad news, and for December that was natural gas being up 7.8% and crude being up 7.1%, but Anirban Basu, chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors, said that is at least partly a seasonal effect.
• The general number overshadows good news, too, as softwood lumber actually fell 3.3% month-to-month after increasing pretty regularly, as did nonferrous wire and cable.

Dive Insight:

Basu commented that materials prices have been "unusually well-behaved" of late. There are no guarantees, "but for now things seems reasonably calm."