AuctionsPlus commercial sheep and lamb listings rocketed this week, with a total of 49,138 head offered, up 53% on last week's numbers.
The clearance rate lifted 10 percentage points to finish the week at 86%, which was driven by demand for lamb categories which cleared an outstanding 94%, while the joined ewe offering experienced more varied results with a 42% clearance rate.
The crossbred lamb indicator remained steady to average $118/head and the AuctionsPlus Restocker Lamb indicator fell 5c/kg to average 745c/kg dressed.
The value over reserve averaged $13/head over set reserves, lifting $5 from last week. Lots that sold during the auction averaged $14/head above reserve, with the figure dropping slightly during post-auction transactions.
The new season lamb offering lifted again this week, with 37,195 head up from 24,325 last week. This category made up 82% of the total yarding. New season lambs achieved a 94% clearance rate, up from 77% last week. The average price fell just shy of last week's $117/head to average $116/head this week.
Listings increased significantly in NSW, with numbers up 15,473 from last week. Queensland also saw a strong recovery in numbers from the week prior. Listings also rose in South Australia, with 1,075 more head listed than last week, bringing the total to 7,071 head offered.
The NSW Riverina was comfortably the highest listing region. With the 18,485 head listed from the Riverina, the numbers contributed 38% of the week's total sheep and lamb offerings across the platform.
Table 1: AuctionsPlus National Weekly Sheep and Lamb Prices
Report: Interactive Market Dashboard
Crossbred lambs registered 20,015 head, producing similar numbers to those seen last week, with prices continued to grip onto last week's average of $118/head. Merino Wether Lambs however witnessed a substantial uplift in numbers offered, increasing 518% from last week. The 14,444 head offered averaged $111/head, lifting $28 a head from the week prior.
From Carrathool, NSW a line of 303 White Suffolk/Merino wethers Apr/May drop weighing 41kg lwt returned $172/head, or 422c/kg and will travel to a buyer in Narrabri, NSW.
First cross ewe lambs dropped an average of $23/head to $132/head in similar fashion to the week prior, where prices fell $31/ head last week. However, the clearance rate rocketed to 75%, up from 24% last week. From Coonamble, NSW a line of 200 Border Leicester/Merino ewes Apr/May drop and weighing 32kg lwt returned $150/head, or 467c/kg and will travel to a buyer in Inverell, NSW.
Not Station Mated Shedding Merino Ewe Hoggets averaged $140/head, declining $33/head from last week. However, listing numbers for the category increased 154%, with 2,360 included in this week's offering, compared to 928 offered last week.
Note: Prices as at 5pm Thursday, August 29, 2024.