Cattle Prices Settle
AUSTRALIA - Prices for most cattle categories levelled out this week, after slipping from record levels in the weeks following Easter.
A number of shorter trading weeks, the sudden drop in temperature and quality, a spike in the A$, and drier weather to transport stock, all combined to increase supply.
However, the market now appears to have steadied, with prices rising across most indicators against the previous week. Margins across different categories are now more likely to occur than in recent months, with yearling steers and cows in tighter supply and more grown steers coming forward. Export cattle prices will also be constrained by the very high A$.
Young cattle markets continue to be underpinned by restockers and is not surprising given the feed surplus equation. As such, vealers in forward condition with the ability to progress through winter are still being highly sought after by restockers. The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) gained 1.75¢ on last week, to finish at 388.75¢/kg cwt.
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