High lumber prices are back, even as the industry steps into what is normally a seasonal lull.

Prices are climbing amid tight supplies and a pickup in homebuilding. Western Canada is seeing reduced output and the U.S. south is grappling with labor shortages. The U.S. is also expected to double duties on a common Canadian wood next month, adding to costs.

The rise signals that homebuyers will face elevated prices for longer. On Tuesday, lumber futures were trading around US$735.70 per 1,000 board feet in Chicago, more than double the pre-pandemic five-year average around US$356.

Wood prices have been volatile, whipsawing since the pandemic began. They touched record highs amid a COVID-19 inspired home-building boom, then collapsed because sawmills ramped up production and the high prices stifled retail demand. Now, the market is shooting up again…read more.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Canadian oil is set to decline within the next decade. That has not stopped funding from flooring into new projects however as producers aim to milk the country’s oil reserves for all they’re worth before that. The IEA foresaw this, predicting that Canada could be producing an additional 700,000 bpd of oil equivalent by 2030, before the eventual decline in demand and output.

The decline of Canadian oil should not come as a surprise for a country whose leader announced a net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050 in line with Paris Agreement aims at the end of 2020. Canada’s openness to green policy and the push for an electric vehicle (EV) revolution across the country means Canada will soon decrease its domestic reliance on fossil fuels.

Yet, the pessimistic outlook has not stopped the government and Canada’s private oil and gas companies from planning huge developments to ensure the industry remains resilient for as long as demand is high…read more.

From the gasoline in our cars to the plastic in countless everyday items, crude oil is an essential raw material that shows up everywhere in our lives.

With around 18 million barrels of crude oil consumed every day just in America, this commodity powers transport, utilities, and is a vital ingredient in many of the things we use on a daily basis.

Crude oil is primarily refined into various types of fuels to power transport and vital utilities. More than 85% of crude oil is refined into fuels like gasoline, diesel, and hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs) like propane and butane.

Along with being fuels for transportation, heating, and cooking, HGLs are used as feedstock for the production of chemicals, plastics, and synthetic rubber, and as additives for motor gasoline production.

Crude oil not only powers our vehicles, but it also helps pave the roads we drive on. About 4% of refined crude oil becomes asphalt, which is used to make concrete and different kinds of sealing and insulation products.

Although transportation and utility fuels dominate a large proportion of refined products, essential everyday materials like wax and plastic are also dependent on crude oil. With about 10% of refined products used to make plastics, cosmetics, and textiles, a barrel of crude oil can produce a variety of unexpected everyday products.

Personal care products like cosmetics and shampoo are made using petroleum products, as are medical supplies like IV bags and pharmaceuticals. Modern life would look very different without crude oil…read more.

With oil prices rallying in recent weeks, it looks like we are going to see $100 a barrel oil, John Catsimatidis, who is active in both the oil and food business, told FOX Business on Monday.

“With oil nearly at $84 this morning, we are going to see $100 oil, it looks like, there’s no sign of it stopping,” said Catsimatidis, who is chief executive of United Refining Company, and president and CEO of Gristedes, D’Agostino Foods, and the Red Apple Group.

“Food prices are going up tremendously,” Catsimatidis told FOX Business.

Food prices are going up very fast because nobody wants to be behind the curve, and everyone is raising prices, the executive said.

Catsimatidis expects prices to rise by 10 percent in the next 60 days, inflation not to go away any time soon, and supply-chain issues to likely persist through the middle of 2022.

The billionaire U.S. businessman with interests in the oil and food business, among others, is not alone in his forecast that oil prices could hit $100 per barrel.

Oil could hit $100 in case of a colder winter, some analysts and investment banks have said in recent weeks. Record-high natural gas prices are forcing some utilities to switch to oil derivatives instead, boosting demand for crude…read more.