Wood fiber costs for pulp mills worldwide increased for the fourth consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter of 2009. During 2009, the Hardwood Wood Fiber Price Index (HFPI) moved up 15.4 percent, while the Softwood Wood Fiber Price Index (SFPI) was up 10.5 percent, according to the Wood Resource Quarterly.Pulp markets have been remarkably strong during 2009, despite the global financial crisis. From April through December, the softwood market pulp price (NBSK) jumped 45 percent, the Wood Resouice Quarterly writes. Strong pulp markets and a tight wood fiber supply pushed wood fiber costs upward last year.The Hardwood Wood Fiber Price Index (HFPI) increased 15.4 percent during 2009, which was the third highest level since the launching of the index in 1988.During the fourth quarter of 2009 the HFPI was up seven percent from the previous quarter. The biggest price increases in US Dollar terms during the fourth quarter occurred in Germany, Finland, Spain and Australia. Those four countries also had the highest delivered wood costs of all countries tracked by the Wood Resource Quarterly. Prices in Spain and Australia were close to their all-time highs.The Softwood Wood Fiber Price Index (SFPI) also went up last quarter. The SFPI increased 5.6 percent, mainly as a result of higher wood fiber costs in Sweden, Finland, the US, Spain and Chile.Historically, softwood fiber costs have always been higher than hardwood fiber costs, but the year of 2009 was a trend breaker and changed this situation.Higher costs for Eucalyptus logs, reduced fiber consumption in regions with high softwood fiber costs, and exchange rate adjustments were all factors that transformed the global wood fiber market in 2009, the Wood Resource Quarterly reports.