US Perspective—17.12.19
17/12/2019
www.themaxfieldreport.com
Offer lists in the big packer trade were mostly unchanged last week, with the only noticeable change coming in the number of loads of HNS and BBS offered, as well as Jumbo steer selections; there appeared to be more than the previous week. Sources say asking prices were mostly unchanged.
As to the number of hides changing hands last week, popular opinion is that there were not as many hides sold as in the previous week. The consensus is that if packers had been a bit more willing to listen to the ideas of buyers, they could have sold more hides last week. However, packers continue to insist they are well sold, in spite of unseasonably large harvest levels and do not appear as if they have any interest in discounting prices.
In the cowhide trade, producers were bolstered with confidence entering the week, on the heels of better-than-expected business in the past two or three weeks. Offer lists did not appear nearly as populated as last month’s, while most of the selections offered were reported to be for shipment in the second half of January, if not February.
Most members of the trade claim the number of bids was not nearly as high as in the past two or three weeks, while many buyers were testing the wills of sellers and bidding prices lower than the last reported trading levels.
This is the last full week of trading for 2019 and if there is going to be a decent round of business, we would suspect it to happen this week, as we anticipate most offices around the world will close or run only a skeleton operation for the Christmas and New Year holidays. In the meantime, we are expecting another unseasonably large harvest this week as meat demand is exceeding even the most optimistic guesses of pundits. With packers still registering some historically large margins, we are looking for numbers around the 660,000 head level this week.
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