The Rise Appears to Be Gradually Losing Some of Its Momentum

Although the upward trend identified on the US softwood-lumber market since June 2013 was still underway at the beginning of October, the rise appears to be gradually losing some of its momentum. According to information from market players, as the end of the year is approaching, buyers are acting with increasing caution as re-gard their orders, placing them at very short no-tice and strictly as their needs dictate. US buyers are avoiding additions to stocks at the moment. In export business, the pace of activity on the Asian markets has slowed slightly in the last few weeks, which US exporters are attributing to higher stocks particularly in Japan but also to hol-iday-related interruptions in business activities in China. Besides this, the current dispute over US national finances appear to be causing a certain amount of uncertainty on the market.