Young cattle markets continued to slide, with the EYCI dropping another 12¢ to finish the week at 621¢/kg cwt.
Dry weather and historically high prices appear to be driving cattle to market at a time when supply is usually tightening. Nothing exceptional is happening with cattle yardings – they were down a touch, and largely in line with the same week of the last two years. However, cattle slaughter is doing strange things.
East coast cattle slaughter reached a 2017 peak, setting a seven-month high, with MLA’s weekly cattle slaughter figures hitting 137,019 head – seven per cent higher than the same week last year.
It was also the first time that weekly slaughter had been higher than the previous year since this exact week back in 2015. Demand is relatively steady, with price being governed by supply.
