Weekly Cattle Comments - Week ending Friday 15th December

AuctionsPlus commercial cattle listings fell back to Earth after last week’s bumper listing, down 19% to 19,548 head. Last week, the largest offering of the year was met with a clearance rate of 56% and it appears that buyers are remaining wary, with a clearance this week of just 36%.

This week, a little more than a third of the total listing was cleared with confidence seemingly tested by last week’s less than stellar showing and, perhaps, the exceedingly hot days throughout the week were a not-so-subtle reminder that an El Nino forecast is still in place.

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Cattle Prices
Table 2: AuctionsPlus Queensland Cattle Prices
Table 3: AuctionsPlus Angus Cattle Prices
Report: Interactive Market Dashboard

Steers

This week, the highest offering of steers came from those 330-400kg which saw 2,213 head offered, registering a $69 fall on last weeks price to average $1,059/head or 293 c/kg lwt. Prices ranged between between 158 – 343c. From Inverell, NSW a line of 91 Angus steers aged 12 to 15 months old and weighing 339kg returned $1080/head, or 319c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Dirranbandi, QLD.

Demand for heavier steers 400kg+ was particularly low, just reaching a clearance of 24% for the offering of 1,873 head. Prices ranged from 187-315c and averaged 283 c/kg lwt, or $1,252/head, down $90 on last week. A significant line of 164 Angus steers from Tumut, NSW split across two lots aged 14 to 20 months and weighing 435kg returned $1270/head, or 292c/kg lwt and will both travel to a buyer in Texas, QLD.

Heifers

Heifers with the highest offering this week were in the 280-330kg range. A total of 2,259 head were offered compared to 2,002 head last week. Prices ranged from 193-330 cents per kg live weight, averaging 269 c/kg lwt compared to last week's average of 272 c/kg lwt. From Moura, QLD a line of 102 Angus heifers aged 16 to 18 months and weighing 306kg returned $930/head, or 304c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Mount Gardiner, QLD.

Heifers 330-400kg had a total offering of 2,084 head, down 17% on last week. Prices ranged from 157-346c with an average of 236 c/kg lwt, which was significantly lower than last week's average of 263 c/kg lwt. Clearance this week reached just 26%. From Esk, QLD a line of 28 Droughtmaster heifers aged 16 to 20 months old and weighing 341kg returned $860/head, or 253c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Roadvale, QLD

Breeding stock

PTIC heifers registered an offering of 1,284 head, an increase on last weeks offering of 932. This week an average price of $1609/head was returned, a $4 dollar increase from the previous week. From Sale, VIC a line of 24 Angus heifers aged 18 to 21 months old and weighing 544kg returned $2200/head and will travel to a buyer in Bairnsdale, VIC.

Station-mated heifers achieved an average return of $1770/head across a larger total offering of 935 head, a $49 increase from the previous week. From Longreach, QLD a line of 72 Brahman Cross heifers aged 18 to 32 months old and weighing 368kg returned $750/head and will travel to a buyer in Barcaldine, QLD.

Note: Prices as at 2pm Friday, 15th December 2023

Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Cattle Prices

Table 2: AuctionsPlus Queensland Cattle Prices

Table 3: AuctionsPlus Angus Cattle Prices

AuctionsPlus Interactive Cattle Market Report