INDICATORS: NYCI bouncing back but sheep prices take nosedive

The National Young Cattle Indicator (NYCI) is bouncing back, lifting 8.03c/kg liveweight in the past week to be 350.26c/kg early Friday morning. It remains 24.05 back on the previous month and 1.49 higher than the same time last year.

The NYCI is a seven-day rolling average of young cattle sold across all NLRS-reported saleyards and Australia’s suite of online livestock marketplaces.

Roma Store Sales, recording an average price of 364.26c/kg, accounted for the largest portion - almost 30% - of the calculation this week, with NSW Online sales recording a reduced offering of 2,216 head, to account for the second largest portion of the calculation.

Yearling heifers remained the largest category included, with a reduced 4,038 head, back from 5,523 heifers last week, averaging 323.53c/kg, a massive 15.81c/kg price boost from last week.

Meanwhile, The Eastern States Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI), a seven-day rolling average of young cattle from 23 saleyards across Queensland, NSW and Victoria, was sitting at 653.66 cents per kilogram dressed on Friday morning, up 17.40 for the week, back 53.75 from a month ago and up 23.29 on last year.

In the sheep markets, the restocker lamb indicator was sitting at 657.62 cents per kilogram dressed on Friday morning, a fall of 18.42 week on week, with the heavy lamb indicator 778.85 cents per kilogram dressed, a further decrease of 19.41 for the week but an increase of 110.66 compared to the same time last year.

The Merino lamb indicator plummeted this week, down to 571.89 cents per kilogram dressed, or 54.55 lower than a week ago, and the mutton indicator also dropped to 337.50 cents per kilogram dressed, or 34.54 lower than the same time last week.