Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap

Cattle 

The Bureau of Meteorology eight-day forecast looks wet for northern Australia, firming up further restocker dominance at the saleyards. This has resulted in further record prices being paid as more spring cattle hit the market. 

On 26 October, the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) soared to new heights at 1,075c, suddenly appearing to be in reaching distance of 1,100c/kg cwt. The EYCI rose 11c in a week while also seeing a tremendous rise of 4,474 head of eligible cattle. This is the highest weekly throughput since February, coming to 15,731 head.

Saleyards seeing the largest percentage increases in throughput were Roma, Dalby and Dubbo at 58%, 141% and 104%, respectively. Interestingly, that meant that 60% of cattle through Roma saleyards were EYCI cattle. Reports state that cattle from far western Queensland are entering southern Queensland yards, helping to bump up numbers and catering to heightened demand from restockers and feedlots. Despite this increase in throughput, prices continue to rise.

The National Feeder Steer Indicator also hit a record on Wednesday at 534.87c and the Medium Cow Indicator achieved 362.73c/kg lwt on Tuesday.

Sheep

Like the cattle market, prime lamb yardings also rose this week, although this did not have the same result on the market, with prices easing back accordingly. Young trade and heavy weight lambs increased by 4,448 and 1,902 head, with prices lowering 2c/kg and 14c/kg cwt, signalling a further progression of the spring flush.

It’s evident that lighter types are performing better compared to those heavy, with the margin in touching distance.

NSW yards saw the largest improvements in volume from last week, while there were also jumps in some Victorian and South Australian yards.

Mutton prices improved 8% week-on-week as supply dwindled, achieving 634c/kg cwt.