East Coast cattle yardings have fallen to six-week lows, as lower prices deterred growers from sending cattle to the yards.
Throughput was down 10 per cent for the week, and 23 per cent on the same time last year. Yardings are likely to be lower again this week due to the Victorian public holiday.
Despite the steady EYCI, at 614.25¢/kg cwt, there were some big movements. Queensland trade steers fell 70¢ to 490¢/kg cwt. In NSW, trade steers were up 14¢ to 624¢/kg cwt. There won’t be a 134¢ spread between cattle in NSW and Queensland for long, with the rest of the market suggesting the price should be around the 550-600¢ level. Not helping is the sharp fall in grainfed cattle prices, which have lost 40¢ since the start of the year to sit at a 10-month low of 530¢/kg cwt.
