It’s that time of the week when we check in on some key indicators of performance in the livestock markets.
This week we are focusing on two new indicators launched by Meat & Livestock Australia in recent weeks.
First the new Online Sheep Indicator (OSI) which offers producers and buyers clearer insights into price and supply trends across restocker and breeder sheep sold through digital platforms.
At present, AuctionsPlus is the only online sales platform contributing data to the OSI.
On Friday morning the OSI was sitting at $101.81/head, which was $22.59/head less than last week.
South East NSW made up 65% of the calculation this week.
READ MORE: Cattle trucks roll south as Queensland supplies surge
The new National Feeder Heifer Indicator (NFHI) was also launched recently, offering a dedicated lens into the feeder heifer market, an area previously underrepresented in national reporting.
On Friday morning the indicator was 344.29c/kg (liveweight), down 7.21c/kg on last week.
Meanwhile the National Young Cattle Indicator (NYCI) lifted by 5c to 384.11c/kg liveweight on Friday morning. It has lifted 4.91c on the previous month and is up 65.21 on the same time last year.
The Eastern States Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) was sitting at 726.74 cents per kilogram dressed on Friday morning, down 1.42 for the week, up 19.68 from a month ago and up 103.09 on last year.
In the sheep market, the Restocker Lamb Indicator was sitting at 887.62 cents per kilogram dressed on Friday morning, losing last week’s gains by dropping 41.25 over the past seven days. The Heavy Lamb Indicator continued its climb, lifting 37.42c/kg to be 1,134.59c/kg on Friday morning.
To finish up, a pen of lambs at Wagga, NSW, broke the national record, hitting $440.20. The price beat the previous record of $435 set at Bendigo on Monday. It will be interesting to see what next week brings.
