There was a lot more noise and excitement in the eastern spruce lumber market yesterday. Not that traders saw increased sales, but the eastern mills were very busy selling. Both the Canadian and U.S. markets were very active. There was a fair amount of short covering done, along with some cheap speculative purchases added in. Much of the business for the mills was into distributor’s hands. Dealers kept a lower profile, not swaying much from their philosophy of keeping inventories lean and mean. The futures market also had its influence, seeing a very heavy volume of transactions.