US Perspective—24.07.18
24/07/2018
www.themaxfieldreport.com
Packers entered last week still in possession of well-populated offer lists, accompanied by widespread speculation that several had a number of selections available for prompt shipment. Supporting this theory were multiple reports that many of the packers had “special” offers, which of course led to numerous unconfirmed rumours of sales taking place at prices lower than the asking prices.
We heard by mid-week that several sellers had seen a slight improvement in the number of buyers looking for material; however, a common theme was that most of these buyers were harbouring some very aggressive price ideas and packers were not willing to concede. By the time the second half of the week rolled around, it appeared there were several more buyers submitting ideas and it appears several of the packers enjoyed a strong week of sales last week.
In fact, according to various reports, it appears as if the backlog of heifers that had been hanging over the market may have been liquidated in the last week.
We are also hearing rumblings of some decent quantities of BRS, CBS & HTS bought last week. This is leading to thoughts that we could see a decent week of sales on this week’s USDA Export Sales Report and speculation that offer lists of packers are not nearly as populated now.
It will be interesting to see if packers, after enjoying decent business last week, make an attempt to raise their asking prices, which by the way, we think would be a bit premature, especially considering how many weeks we have seen this year when sales fell well short of the harvest, not to mention that harvest levels do not appear as if they are giving any indication of easing.
In the cowhide trade, producers entered the week with offer lists that were fairly well populated; however, we were not aware of many offers of hides for prompt shipment or special offers. Most members of the trade claim things got off to a slow start, while the few buyers willing to share their price ideas were bidding prices aggressively lower, with most producers unwilling to consider discounts. As the middle of the week approached, sellers were seeing many more bids than in the past few weeks, although we are aware of some producers who insist they were not as fortunate; some even shared they were not able to sell a hide last week.
Any indication of stable prices would be welcome. It it is also welcome to be writing about positive news.
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