A source in China told Fastmarkets that hide trading was slow on Monday October 28, but sellers said they were pleased with the prior week’s activity. Several market participants believed that buying interest was mostly driven by the end of the warm months in the US, which reduces the availability of the best-quality hides.

A trader reported that regular-weight heavy native steer (HNS) hides were sold at $28.50 per piece, down by $1.50 per piece from Fastmarkets’ assessment on Friday October 25 but unchanged from the seller’s previously reported trade.

A European automotive tanner cancelled hide orders because of high inventory and insufficient leather sales, a source told Fastmarkets. Several automotive tanners in North America and Europe continued to struggle with inconsistent demand from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which led them to buying small and infrequent hide volumes.

Cattle slaughter forecast

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