For most US hide sellers, the market remained quiet on Wednesday January 29, as Chinese tanners were away for their Lunar New Year holiday. But some activity persisted, particularly in the cow hide sector, with buyers placing bids despite the holiday.

While steer hides saw little interest, there were reports of bids on cow hides from several origins, including Taiwan, Mexico and mainland China, specifically from furniture tanners in Hebei province.

Several sources told Fastmarkets of a rumor going around in the market that one major packer, needing to move volume, sold steer hides at a discount, though the exact prices were not reported.

Meanwhile, one seller reported strong weekend sales of dairy and branded cow hides, leaving them in no rush to sell further on Wednesday. Bidding interest for cow hides was generally $1-2 per piece below last traded levels.

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