Trading in the US hide market remained slow over the Thanksgiving holiday to Monday December 2. Sellers were reluctant to aggressively market hides, while buyers displayed limited interest in making significant purchases. Although there were some inquiries from buyers, many bid at prices considered unreasonably low, which most sellers chose to ignore.

Despite subdued activity, a post-holiday after-hours trade was done with the packer maintaining pricing at previous levels, with regular-weight butt branded steer (BBS) hides unchanged at $26.50 per piece. The lack of urgency from both sides has highlighted a static market environment, with minimal movement expected until broader market dynamics shift.

Cattle slaughter forecast
Fastmarkets’ research team forecasts US cattle slaughter at 625,000 head in the week to December 7, up by 18.37% week on week and down by 2.07% year on year.

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