Market Morsel: Weight of numbers
Market Morsel
Livestock prices have come under pressure in the last month with the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) dropping to the lowest levels seen since the FMD inspired panic selling seen in June/July 2022. The EYCI is trading at 876c/kg cwt after easing 144 cents over the last four weeks, a fall of 14%.
It is a similar picture of weakening prices across the cattle categories at the nation’s saleyards with the Heavy Steer down 97 cents in the last month to trade at 362c/kg lwt, which is 21% softer than where it was trading in October.
Trade lamb and mutton are equally soft. Over the last four weeks the National Trade Lamb Indicator (NTLI) has eased 15%, or 118 cents to 688c/kg cwt and the National Mutton Indicator (NMI) has slumped nearly 37% over the month to sit at 336c/kg cwt, a 197 cent fall from where is was trading in late October.
A look a the national yarding volumes for November give a bit of a clue to the price pressures being seen over the last four weeks. National cattle yardings are up to the highest monthly level seen all year at 226,514 head, which is a 49% lift on the volumes seen in October and 47% above the average monthly yardings seen over the 2022 season.
Combined sheep and lamb yarding levels paint a similar picture with November yarding levels up 27% from the volumes seen in October. November 2022 saw 1.37 million head of sheep and lamb presented at saleyards across the country, the highest monthly yarding of sheep and lamb seen all year and levels that are 47% above the average monthly yarding seen so far this season.
