Fur Market Takes a Turn for the Better

It looks like the fur market is finally back!  This past weekend was a huge one for fur auctions, and the results are very encouraging.

First off was the Fur Harvesters Auction February 19th sale in Seattle.  Essentially every item offered for sale at the auction showed significant price advances from the previous auction.  Most notably, muskrats averaged $8.50, and western bobcats averaged $420.  Coyote, raccoon, mink, fox and beaver prices were significantly higher as well.

Click here to see the February FHA Auction Results.

In addition to the big FHA sale, several local auctions solidified the idea that the fur market is back from its recent lows.

The Utah Trappers Association fur sale averaged $263 on bobcats and $5.59 on muskrats last weekend.  Click here for results.

I was fortunate enough to be involved with the Western States Fur Auction held in Columbus, Montana this past weekend as well.  Despite a small offering, fur prices at this auction were extremely encouraging.  Bobcats averaged $353, muskrats were at $5.46, coyotes averaged over $34, and and western marten averaged over $30.

Overall, the recent fur auction results are a good indicator that the fur market has experienced a very significant recovery.  Sure, some fur prices can’t compare to the high levels they were at several years ago.  For instance, beaver prices are still quite low.  Still, most items have seen huge advances.  I think it’s safe to say that the fur market has bounced off of the lows we had to deal with over the past year, and future fur prices should be encouraging.  It’s almost a certainty that higher prices will encourage more trapping activity, particularly for muskrats and the other high priced items.  Only time will tell whether this increase in supply will saturate the market and depress fur prices in the coming months.

The bottom line is that fur prices have bounced back.  The fur market has turned for the better, and we trappers can only take advantage of this opportunity and hope that prices remain at an acceptable level.

Keep trapping!