US hide trading was slow on Wednesday October 2, with only two trades reported. Light-weight butt branded steers (BBS) traded down by $0.25 per piece to $16.50 per piece, and regular-weight BBS also fell by $0.25 per piece, settling at $17 per piece.

Several sources reported that Chinese hide buying drastically ramped up on Wednesday following the government’s attempt to stimulate the economy, despite Golden Week celebrations taking place October 1-7.

Fastmarkets’ analysts believe that the improved interest was driven by the Chinese central bank’s mortgage rate cut on existing home loans and the reserve requirement ratio, which is expected to free up money for consumers. Increased affordability within China may lead to improved spending on a broad spectrum of leather goods.

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