The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange has told the Belarusian Telegraph Agency, the country’s state-owned news agency, that it intends to ship more Belarusian sawn timber products to China.
Wood Markets News
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Creeps Higher in the Week Ending May 18th
Freddie Mac has released its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® for the week ending May 18th. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.39%, up from last week when it averaged 6.35%. A year ago, the 30-year rate averaged 5.25%.
Metsä Board Announces Plans for Temporary Layoffs in Finland
Metsä Board, part of Metsä Group, will initiate negotiations on possible temporary layoffs for its paperboard and BCTMP mills in Finland. The negotiations involve a total of 1,100 employees at seven mills.
The Conference Board Reports US Leading Economic Index® Declined 0.6% in April
The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index® (LEI) declined 0.6% in April to a reading of 107.5 (2016=100) after posting declines of 1.2% in March and 0.5% in February. The LEI has dropped 4.4% over the last six months.
US Weekly Jobless Claims Decrease for the Week Ending May 13th
The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 242,000 during the week ending Saturday, May 13th. This is a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 264,000.
US Housing Starts Increase in April; Permits and Completions Fall
Privately‐owned housing starts in April were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,401,000; this is 2.2% above the revised March. Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 846,000; this is 1.6% above the revised March figure of 833,000.
Nova Scotia Announces New Pilot Program to Provide Working Capital Loans for Forestry Contractors
The Province of Nova Scotia announced a new pilot program that will let forestry contractors borrow working capital to help their businesses succeed. Through the Timber Loan Board, contractors can borrow up to $50,000 (CAD) at a competitive rate.
Investment in Canadian Building Construction Declines in March
Statistics Canada reported that investment in Canadian building construction declined 1.3% to $20.3 billion (CAD) in March. On a constant dollar basis (2012=100), investment in building construction fell 1.8% to $11.5 billion.
Swinerton Tops Out Second Phase of Apartment Development in Charlotte, NC
Swinerton has topped out the second phase of The Joinery, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to REBusiness Online. The Joinery consists of two seven-story apartment buildings with a total of 360 units and 30,000 square feet of commercial space.
Mortgage Applications Decline in Week Ending May 12th
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—declined 5.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 6.0%.