Rain bounces cattle market

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At the close of Thursday’s markets, the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) settled at 546.50¢/kg cwt, up 21.00¢/kg cwt week-on-week but still 50.00¢/kg cwt below where it peaked in late September.

The dramatic fall in cattle prices during October occurred as hot and dry conditions increased turnoff throughout the eastern states and dampened restocker interest in the market. However, parts of south-east Queensland, eastern NSW and Gippsland in Victoria received decent showers over the past week, which saw the surge in saleyard throughput recede, providing support to saleyard cattle prices.

Queensland EYCI eligible cattle averaged 546¢/kg cwt over the past week, slightly below NSW (554¢/kg cwt) but well ahead of Victoria (521¢/kg cwt).

This week, EYCI eligible cattle at:

With just over 3,000 head at Roma Store this week, Queensland saleyard throughput at MLA reported saleyards totalled just 9,759 head, 61% below a fortnight ago. NSW followed a similar trend, yarding 16,544 head, back 44% over the same period, while consignments in Victoria remained high, at 13,771 head.

The recovery in cattle prices has also been felt in WA, with Tuesday’s Western Young Cattle Indicator (WYCI) finishing at 557.25¢, up 15.00¢/kg cwt week-on-week.

Northern live export prices also remain strong, with feeder steers out of Darwin making 330-340¢ and similar lines out of Townsville receiving 285-300¢/kg lwt.

Much of the eastern Australia remains dry and drought affected and the latest Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) outlook points to a hotter and drier three months ahead in the south-east. However, in the short term, there does appear to be more rain on the horizon for south-east Queensland and eastern NSW over the next week.