US Perspective—29.07.08
29/07/2008
Many pundits are starting to lean towards the opinion that the big packer steer market in the US might be a bit over-cooked because, although packers were able to trade at some of the previously reported levels, it is becoming more and more apparent that trading volumes at these levels are somewhat limited.
In the meantime, buyers this week made efforts to convince packers to accept lower prices; however, as of this writing we cannot verify if any of the packers had abandoned their own ideas yet.
For now, we have to call trading levels steady with last week—if for no other reason because there really have not been enough hides changing hands this week to establish a price, and we will have to see how long packers want to allow their sold forward position to slowly erode before changing their mind-set, as this will be the third week in a row when packers have not cleared their production.
As it pertains to cow and bull hides, producers continue to face pressure to lower prices, and although it appears that a few producers were very proactive last week and are suspected to be doing some direct business at prices slightly lower than those on our price guide, it does not appear as if sellers as a group still have enough product sold to stem the downward pressure facing the market. This has left those who did not participate last week to face even more aggressive ideas this week, and one does not have to look very far to find some pundits rather bearish about future business.
Share this story:
