Last week's rainfall in some regions had minimal impact on the lamb market, with a slight increase in the number of lambs being sold, particularly in NSW.
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On Monday, prices experienced a modest rise by a few dollars for premium lambs at southern saleyards, while northern market outcomes remained mixed.
At the close of Monday night's selling, the national saleyard price indicators saw only marginal movements, with trade weight lambs listed at 708 cents a kilogram carcase weight and heavy lambs at 731c/kg.
Both categories recorded a 6c/kg increase, as reported by Meat & Livestock Australia's National Livestock Reporting Service.
This upward trend in prices reflects a shortage of well-finished lambs at most selling centres.
In Wagga Wagga, NSW, the yarding rebounded to 42,000 last Thursday, marking a significant increase of 13,000 compared to the previous week.
Further north, at Dubbo, NSW, supplies remained consistent at 11,620, with grazing conditions improving after recent rains.
On Monday, heavy lambs at Bendigo reached a top price of $259 a head, with prices averaging 724c/kg.
The NLRS highlighted market fluctuations across trade lamb categories, noting that the best competition was observed for well-shaped lambs in a short skin.
However, the market occasionally lost momentum, resulting in the loss of earlier gains.
The best trade averaged between 700-750c/kg.
The mutton sale saw an uptick in competition, leading to improved prices.
Quality lines of mutton were traded within the range of 300-350c/kg.
Merino ewes, still in wool, fetched prices ranging from $105-$138.
Notably, trade sheep experienced the most significant gains, with the majority being sold between $60-$85.
In Corowa, NSW, lamb supplies remained consistent, and the overall quality was outstanding.
The presence of a substantial number of new-season shorn lambs led to increased competition, especially from supermarkets.
This caused trade lambs to lift by $7-$12.
The top end of the 22-24kg category reached $194, with the majority averaging 767c/kg.
However, heavy lambs fell $8, averaging 714c/kg.
The market dynamics witnessed at Ballarat exhibited a fluctuating sale, commencing with a strong start before experiencing a retreat, especially in the trade lamb category.
Prices for trade lambs dipped $11, and averaged 767c/kg.
Heavy lambs weighing 26-30kg softened $6, while lambs exceeding 30kg remained unchanged to average 779c/kg.
In the mutton sale, intense competition from processors drove prices up by $11, resulting in an average price of 339-364c/kg.
