US Perspective - 08.07.08
Business in the US last week was fairly sporadic and we could not verify any significant amounts of trading, supported by the USDA Export Sales Report this week which reflects that there were only 265,000 wet-salted and 58,400 wet blue hides sold.
Interestingly enough,
in spite of the lower sales figures last week, packers looked as though they had been able to eke out incremental increases for some big
packer selections, with HTS reaching as high as $75 delivered
($68 FOB) and BBS $74 delivered ($67). Meanwhile, HNS prices remain
entrenched at levels of $67.50, putting HTS at a premium compared to HNS—very
strange!
In the meantime, the cow and bull business is dragging, and prices remain under pressure. We have confirmed reports that HNDC—which had been fairly easy to sell during the month of May—are struggling at levels of $55, while HNC are not fair behind with reports of trading at $52.
The problematic selection continues to be HBC, with many producers
lugging higher than normal unsold inventories of this selection. This is leading to several rumours accusing producers of
looking for volume business at levels no better than $40; however as of
this writing we have not heard on any hides bought at this level, although we
have heard reports of sales at $42.
