A tough week for commercial cattle this week with the 17,760 head managing to clear just 36%. Steers 280-330kg have held steady in terms of price but the AuctionsPlus Young Cattle Indicator fell 23 points.
The optimism at the start of the year seems to have dried up along with the available pasture. Heat waves in South Australia and Victoria in February and into March have seen those states lead in terms of falls in confidence.
As the below chart shows, those states saw clearance rates drop off in early February. Queensland and NSW have now followed that trend downwards, after holding relatively steady in terms of clearance for the last three weeks.
Some regions saw particularly poor demand, with NSW Northern Tablelands and Western Queensland showing less than 10% clearance each across 3000 combined head. SW Victoria saw just a quarter of its 1,658 head find a buyer.
Things were a little less pessimistic in Central West NSW, Southern QLD and NSW Northwest Slopes and Plains where clearance ranged between 46%-56% on relatively large offerings.
Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Cattle Prices
Report: Interactive Market Dashboard
Steers 330-400kg registered a fractionally smaller offering of 2,694 head and averaged $1,198/head - down $64 from last week for a 23% clearance. Prices ranged from 240 - 373c and averaged 340c/kg lwt. From Bungowannah, NSW a line of 88 Angus steers aged 8 to 9 months and weighing 341kg returned $1270/head, or 373c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Anakie, VIC.
Steers 200-280kg registered a 4% smaller offering of 1,973 head and averaged $883/head - down $73 from last week for a 36% clearance. Prices ranged from 293 - 422c and averaged 362c/kg lwt. From Mudgee, NSW a line of 20 Black Simmental/Angus steers aged 6 to 7 months and weighing 271kg returned $990/head, or 366c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Warren, NSW.
Heifers 280-330kg jumped 40% to 1,594 head and averaged $864/head - down $26 from last week for a 25% clearance. Prices ranged from 210 - 310c and averaged 280c/kg lwt. From Charleville, QLD a line of 36 Simbrah/Angus/Simmental heifers aged 6 to 12 months and weighing 283kg returned $750/head, or 265c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Charleville, QLD.
Heifers 330-400kg registered a 4% smaller offering of 1,296 head and averaged $1,039/head - down $2 from last week for a 57% clearance. Prices ranged from 234 - 307c and averaged 292c/kg lwt. From Barraba, NSW a line of 95 Angus heifers aged 15 to 17 months and weighing 352kg returned $1080/head, or 307c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Timor, NSW.
PTIC Cows registered a slightly larger offering of 1,424 head and averaged $1,680/head - up $129 from last week for a 37% clearance. From Coonamble, NSW two lines of 60 Angus cows aged 2.5 to 3 years old and weighing 523kg returned $2020/head, or 386c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Boorowa, NSW.
PTIC Heifers registered a 21% larger offering of 978 head and averaged 1,392/head - down $251 from last week for a 31% clearance. From Oakey, a line of 13 Charolais heifers aged 24 months and weighing 534kg returned $1700/head, or 318c/kg lwt and will travel to a buyer in Buderim, QLD.
Note: Prices as at 2pm Friday, 8th March 2024
Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Cattle Prices
AuctionsPlus Interactive Cattle Market Report
