Enthused restockers return to cattle market

The yearling steer restocker market exploded this week, with the national indicator jumping 47¢/kg lwt over the course of just seven days, closing Wednesday evening at 376¢/kg lwt.

Decent rainfall over the past week across large swathes of Victoria, NSW and Queensland continued to invigorate buyers, with all three states rising to a similar degree as the national average.

As expected, and echoing the market conditions observed throughout the majority of 2016, it was the restocker buyers most enthused by the recent rainfall, while feeder and processor buyers for similar aged cattle remained much quieter. While each national indicator did rise, they weren’t nearly to the same extent as the restocking counterpart. Feeder yearling steers averaged 334¢/kg lwt, while processor purchases averaged 336¢/kg lwt.

Despite the fact the national yearling restocker indicator has jumped, it remains well below the record 416¢/kg lwt (October 2016). However, considering the breadth of rainfall, and follow up in some instances, the market should remain buoyant for the duration of April.

If you’d like to examine further market trends on the cattle market, take a look at the new Market Reports & Prices section of the MLA website.