The penultimate week of AuctionsPlus commercial sales for 2021 delivered mixed results through the main young cattle categories, with the 16,741 head offered - up 22% on last week and the largest weekly offering since the start of November. While overall price movements left no definite trend for the week, the market continues to sit atop a price Everest, with yet another record for the EYCI this week.
Despite the absence of a clear overall price trend this week, as prices fluctuated within categories, a clear feature included an increase in pass-in rates at the immediate closure of the sale, as some vendors tested the buyer’s willingness to “pay-up”. While these pass-in rates will fall in coming days, as post-sale negotiations continue with the highest bidders, the lack of seasonal pressure to sell is a major characteristic of the current market.
The largest young steer category this week was 200-280kg steers, which remained steady on last week, averaging $1,775/head – with an 88% clearance rate for the 2,037 head offered. A resurgent heavy steer offering, with 2,152 head offered, sold to a 93% clearance rate, with c/kg prices steady on last week, averaging 569c/kg lwt, while the equivalent $/head price slipped $20, to average $2,506/head.
The young heifer market was three-up-two-down this week, with an over 90% clearance rate attained for the three mid-weight categories. The 1,155 head of 200-280kg heifers averaged $89 higher on last week, at $1,810/head, while 330-400kg lines averaged $56 higher, at $2,201/head. 280-330kg heifers averaged $24 lower for the week, at $1,920/head.
Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Cattle Prices
Table 2: AuctionsPlus Queensland Weekly Cattle Prices
Table 3: AuctionsPlus Angus Weekly Cattle Prices
The results from Queensland physical markets were again matched through online sales, with another amazing clearance rate for the week (see Table 2). The recent rain and La Nina forecasts for the summer has seen buyers put “their foot to the floor” in chasing suitable lines of cattle. The looming sale hiatus over the Christmas and New Year period has also added a sense of urgency to the market, assisting the recent rises. The 1,031 head of Queensland based 200-280kg steers which sold through AuctionsPlus this week averaged $1,915/head – 8% higher than the corresponding national average (which was influenced by dairy cattle lines).
PTIC heifers made up the largest proportion of the breeding lines this week, with the 2,320 head offered achieving an 85% clearance rate. The category averaged $86 higher this week, at $3,121/head. The national Angus weekly price summary (see Table 3) showed that PTIC Angus heifer lines averaged $3,263/head for the week, with a 77% clearance rate for 1,345 head offered.
A special mention this week must go out to Colin Thexton, from Independent Rural Agents, who on Monday ran his 30th consecutive online only commercial cattle sale on AuctionsPlus. The sale had 2,066 head offered from a number of different vendors across southern Western Australia. The offering comprised of a variety of different stock categories including steers, heifers, cows and calves, PTIC heifers and PTIC cows. The sale sold to robust demand, achieving a perfect 100% clearance rate, with prices averaging $156/head above the set reserve levels.
Weekly Cattle Summary – w/e Friday 10th December, 2021
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