RESTOCKERS and lotfeeders continue to underpin prices for young stock in markets now starved for supplies.
The traditional winter low in supply has this year been compounded by especially wet and wintry weather, which last week saw throughput at saleyards monitored by the National Livestock Reporting Service slip 22 per cent nationally.
This trend was most evident in Queensland, where yardings were back 48 per cent due to heavy rain at the beginning of the week and the cancellation of some sales, including Roma.
In NSW, yardings fell 20 per cent, while numbers generally were maintained or increased in South Australia and Victoria.
As a result of diminished supply, prices for most categories held firm, except the cow indicator, which gained 8c/kg to finish at 238c/kg.
Restockers now confident of an assured spring and lotfeeders forced to compete to secure stock for peak end-of-year demand for grain-finished beef, pushed the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator into its fourth week above 360c/kg cwt.
The EYCI closed at 364.75c/kg cwt on Monday, 16 per cent or about 50c/kg higher than this time last year, according to Meat and Livestock Australia.
At Pakenham on Monday, 1079 head. or 189 more, were sold after consecutive weeks of smaller yardings due to difficult winter weather.
Demand was generally weaker due to an increase in the number of plain and medium-quality stock offered and less interest from lotfeeders and some of the regular wholesalers, the NLRS noted.
While the best-quality vealers, supplementary-fed yearlings, lightweight vealers and heavy steers all recorded firm rates, other cattle were 2c to 8c/kg cheaper.
Supplementary-fed yearlings peaked at 240c/kg, with good-quality vealers and supplementary-fed yearlings settling from 195c to 220c/kg.
Without strong feedlot demand, most other vealers and lightweight yearlings sold from 170c to 195c/kg, the NLRS said.
D-muscle cattle sold from 135c to 175c/kg. Grown steers mostly sold from 178c to 194c/kg and their heifer counterparts from 148c to 174c/kg.
At Wagga Wagga, also on Monday, a similar sized yarding of 2200 was up to 5c/kg cheaper.
Prime vealers fell 5c/kg, medium and heavy, trade steers and yearling heifers were down 3c to 5c/kg, feeder steers lost 4c/kg and grown steers up to 3c/kg.
The exception was heavy cows, which maintained last week's rates.
