As I write this, we’re in the middle of North American Fur Auctions’ first major auction of the season. This auction is usually a reliable barometer of the overall fur market, but this year is an unusual one. The poor fur market we predicted earlier this year has come to pass, and the only bright spot seems to be small specialty furs and coyotes.
NAFA concluded their coyote sale with some pretty impressive prices considering the market, but not all of the fur sold. The high quality western heavy coyotes sold at 100% at an average of $81, which was excellent for this year. However, the lower quality grade coyotes only sold at 15-45%, averaging a highly variable $36-60.
Along with coyote, NAFA also sold muskrats, only 20% of which sold. They averaged about $4, but those numbers were for the top pelts, indicating that we can expect a much lower overall muskrat average in coming auctions.
The rest of the wild fur at NAFA remains to be sold, but we can expect low prices and low clearances for this auction. Conditions in Russia and China will continue to depress the fur market. Stay tuned for more fur prices as the auctions develop.
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