Buyers still have an appetite to buy US hides as bids have already been placed for Branded Steer and Dairy Cow selections. Despite the strong interest, prices are unchanged. The industry continues to tackle shipping problems and discuss settling leather prices. With the recent hide market volatility, leather price discussions amongst tanners and fashion houses have been postponed until some hide price stabilization. 

February’s Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) Producer Price Index (PPI) for crude petroleum rose 9 percent from January to 154.2 points and the synthetic fibers PPI increased 1 percent from January to 129.2 points. Both indices returned to pre-COVID levels of January 2020, when the PPI for crude oil was 158.7 points and synthetic fibers were 130 points. Oil consumption still falls short of last year’s levels, but demand is strong. Oil demand had increased 18 percent in the last week of February in comparison to the week prior. As vaccines become more…