Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap

Cattle

Over the past two weeks, the cattle market has settled into a phase whereby lighter and finished cattle prices haven’t lifted, with the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) and Heavy Steer Indicator coming off the boil. On top of this, over-the-hooks (OTH) prices have stalled across Queensland and NSW, hinting at a slowdown into Christmas. However, one thing that remains is feedlots paying more for cattle and acquiring a larger portion compared to restockers.

The Feeder Steer Indicator hit a new record of 546c/kg lwt on Monday 8 November. Wagga had twice as many cattle go through the indicator as any other yard. The average weight of feeder cattle at the moment is 422kg, meaning that approximate $/head prices are $2300. While restockers are still paying premiums, feeders are only helping to keep prices buoyant.

Other indicators to break records this week were the Medium Cow and Medium Steer, achieving 364.25c/kg lwt and 473.50c/kg lwt, respectively, supporting demand for middle weight lines of stock to further finish or to prop up the domestic market.

Sheep

Sheep and lamb prices experienced a timely bump this week, with prime lamb, mutton and Merino lamb indicators lifting after consecutive weekly declines. Trade and heavy lamb categories achieved 846c/kg cwt and 850c/kg cwt, respectively. The National Mutton Indicator hit its lowest price of the year last week, but lifted to 592c/kg cwt on Wednesday.

Light lambs (12–18kg) have jumped this week, with prices lifting 47c to reach 893c/kg cwt on Wednesday. 66% of those were sold to processors. Merino lambs have shot up in price this week, also lifting 50c on week-ago levels after declining since early October.

Lamb slaughter gained momentum this week, with numbers increasing by 25%, mainly coming out of NSW. This is a positive sign after significant lulls in previous weeks. A major NSW processor back in action this week has brought more lambs to the foil, with increased competition driving prices up.