Price inflation on the rise. (Brief Article)

Bolstered by increased market demand, prices for construction materials have been trending more strongly upward in recent months. Although overall inflation remains subdued -- both the Consumer and Producer Price Indexes were rising at less than a 3 percent annualized rate as we neared the end of 1993 -- inflation for construction materials has significantly outpaced the rate for most other product categories.

The sharp run-up in lumber prices goes a long ways toward explaining this gap. Prices surged in the spring -- largely on the wings of the spotted owl scare -- be