CHICAGO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange lumber futures closed mostly unchanged on Friday as worries about slow cash sales erased early support from a bullish home sales report, traders said.
* The National Association of Realtors early on Friday reported existing homes sales in September reached a two-year high. That fueled buying and gains in lumber on ideas that home building also may improve.
* As lumber trading progressed more talk of slow cash sales had traders anxious to sell the futures.
* 'The report came out in the morning and we rallied. The slow cash market later just weighed on the market,' said Brian Leonard, analyst with Rosenthal Collins.
* On Friday, November lumber closed unchanged at $174.50 per thousand board feet and January unchanged at $194.00.
* Home building is a major user of lumber but that business remains slow due to tight credit and high unemployment .
* On Friday, the closely watched Random Lengths cash lumber report quoted cash spruce, on average, at $193 per tbf, down $2 from Wednesday and a week earlier.
* 'Trading fell back to quiet after the previous week's action. Dull trading left most prices flat or close to where they started the week,' Random Lengths said in the report.
(Reporting by Bob Burgdorfer; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
((bob.burgdorfer@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 312 408 8723; Reuters Messaging: bob.burgdorfer.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: MARKETS LUMBER CME (For help: Click 'Contact Us' in your desk top, click here or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and 1-888-463-3383 for Thomson products; For client training: training.americas@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646-223-5546) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
* The National Association of Realtors early on Friday reported existing homes sales in September reached a two-year high. That fueled buying and gains in lumber on ideas that home building also may improve.
* As lumber trading progressed more talk of slow cash sales had traders anxious to sell the futures.
* 'The report came out in the morning and we rallied. The slow cash market later just weighed on the market,' said Brian Leonard, analyst with Rosenthal Collins.
* On Friday, November lumber closed unchanged at $174.50 per thousand board feet and January unchanged at $194.00.
* Home building is a major user of lumber but that business remains slow due to tight credit and high unemployment .
* On Friday, the closely watched Random Lengths cash lumber report quoted cash spruce, on average, at $193 per tbf, down $2 from Wednesday and a week earlier.
* 'Trading fell back to quiet after the previous week's action. Dull trading left most prices flat or close to where they started the week,' Random Lengths said in the report.
(Reporting by Bob Burgdorfer; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
((bob.burgdorfer@thomsonreuters.com ; +1 312 408 8723; Reuters Messaging: bob.burgdorfer.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: MARKETS LUMBER CME (For help: Click 'Contact Us' in your desk top, click here or call 1-800-738-8377 for Reuters Products and 1-888-463-3383 for Thomson products; For client training: training.americas@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646-223-5546) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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