Australia: Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap

Yardings creating a softer cattle market Cattle market prices were softer this week after a recovery in yardings from last week. Numbers in Queensland lifted by 3,598 head, with this increase largely being attributed to the Dalby sale which strengthened its yarding by 1,381 head week-on-week. There has been an increase of 16,674 head for Queensland year-to-date, demonstrating the strong supply of cattle coming to marketable weight. Consequently, the increase in numbers has placed pressure on prices as buyers have more livestock to select from and producers look to sell off some of their herd numbers. The Restocker Yearling Heifer Indicator lifted its throughput this week and continued to soften in price, easing by 20¢. The inflated prices at the end of 2021 and during 2022 could not have been maintained in a market flooded by current supply. In the last few months, buyers have only paid for cattle with good finish and weight. Dalby had the highest contribution to the indicator, ...