MLA - Meat & Livestock Australia Limited

07/08/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/07/2021 22:57

Weekly market wrap

Weekly market wrap

08 July 2021

Weekly market wrap

  • Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) breaks the 950¢/kg mark.
  • Nationally, most sheep indicators continue rising, except for Merino and light lambs.
  • Australian dollar falls to its lowest level in 2021.

Young cattle

The EYCI hit 951.75¢/kg on Wednesday - its highest price on record. The high cattle price continues to be driven by strong restocker demand out of Queensland, an area that has received good winter rainfall.

Prices for young cattle in Singleton and Casino continue to fetch above 1,000¢/kg, as the majority of cattle presenting in these yards are younger, lighter vealer cattle.

Sheep prices

Nationally, most lamb and sheep prices continue to climb as supply tightens. The two anomalies were light and Merino lambs.

After rising 4% to 720¢/kg this week, mutton prices are closing in on the record of 747¢/kg set last year - an interesting dynamic given that slaughter is down for the year and the supply of ewes is forecast to grow.

The Australian dollar

The Australian dollar fell to its lowest level since December 2020 when it dropped to US74.66¢ on 2 July.

The price was a 6.3% depreciation from the US79.7¢ reached in February (the highest the Australian dollar had been since 2018). The current Australian dollar price is US75.78¢. At this price, the Aussie dollar is trading relatively stable, a far cry from the 40% appreciation experienced in 2020 and early 2021.

The depreciation in the Australian dollar since February is providing live exporters, processors and meat exporters a slight reprieve. However, they are still dealing with record high livestock prices.

NSW lockdown

The COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney has been extended as the number of cases remain relatively high. The lockdown won't impact processing capacity, however, it will see foodservice limited to take-away - potentially leading to a temporary surge in retail sales, as seen in last year's lockdown.

© Meat & Livestock Australia Limited, 2021

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