Sheep market was significantly dearer at Bendigo

Yarding - 19,000 (+ 0)
Lambs - 14,000 (-1000)
Sheep - 5000 (+1000)

Around 14,000 lambs were penned after the public holiday which cancelled last weeks sale. Not as much weight or finish was evident in the lamb run in a true winter market made up of mixed quality and a lot of smaller pens. All the regular buyers attended, but again, support from key exporters and some domestic companies was sporadic. The best results were for shorn or short-skinned lambs, with buyers wary of carcase finish under very long-woolled stock. Prices ranged from a few dollars dearer to a few dollars cheaper depending on lamb weight and quality, however on a carcase price basis, there wasn't a big change to the trends of a fortnight ago.

Light lambs to processors were dearer, with the better framed types with some fat cover making from $115 to $157/head. Heavy Merino lambs sold to a top of $235, with most trade weight pens making from $175 to $205/head, averaging from 750c to 780c/kg cwt. The strongest section of the auction was neat trade lambs weighing 20 to 24kg which sold from $178 to $208/head, to average from 800c to840c/kg cwt. Pens of plainer and woolly trade lambs remained under 800c/kg cwt. Heavy 26 to 30kg crossbred lambs made from $215 to $250/head to average from 740c to 780c/kg cwt. Heavy export lambs sold from $240 to a top of $264/head over a mixed run which didn't have the super-sized lambs of recent weeks.

The sheep market was significantly dearer pushed along by two dominant export orders with a lot of other processors just watching. Price gains of $20 to $30/head and more were recorded as good lines of mutton surged back over 660c and feature lines of Merino wethers made over 700c/kg cwt. Big crossbred ewes made to $259, while a lot of heavy trade sheep sold from $175 to $220/head.

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