There has been some gradual upward movement in beef prices over the Christmas period.

Reports suggest numbers coming on to the market have been tighter during this period, with finishers slower to move cattle at the prices on offer.

This left some factories ringing regular suppliers at the end of last week to source supplies for Friday’s kill and the start of this week.

The increased pressure on supplies resulted in some factories lifting their base price for heifers to €3.60/kg, while steers also increased 5c/kg to a base of €3.55/kg.

This excludes bonuses of 10c/kg to 15c/kg being paid on Angus and Hereford stock, with demand particularly strong for this type of stock.

Plants that were already on a base of €3.60/kg have resisted further upward movement, while a number of plants are still offering a 5c/kg lower base to suppliers, but are having no success in purchasing at this lower level .

There is also more bite in the cow trade, but, again, it is not across the board and, as such, is leading to a wider differential in prices paid.

P+3 grading cows are trading in small numbers from €2.65/kg to €2.70/kg, but up to €2.80/kg has been paid.

O grading cows have traded from €2.80/kg to €2.95/kg, with R grades selling on average from €3.00/kg to €3.10/kg.

Supplies of U grading cows are tight, with prices ranging from €3.10/kg to €3.25/kg. This is lower than equivalent prices paid in mart sales before the Christmas break for young fleshed cows.

Bull trade

The bull trade is steady, with factories slow to increase prices paid and preferring to offer allowances on weight limits to secure deals.

R grading bulls range in price from €3.45/kg to €3.50/kg, with U grades selling in the main for €3.55/kg, while select deals at the top of the market are reported at €3.60/kg. Most finishers are moving bulls without any price penalties up to 420kg to 430kg.

The extent to which price penalties are being imposed depends on the extent to which bulls are deemed to exceed carcase weight limits and the producer-processor relationship.

Some finishers are getting away without price penalties where the majority of animals in the group are in spec and only small numbers are deemed overweight.

Where penalties are being imposed on bulls exceeding 430kg to 450kg carcase weight, they are generally in the region of 10c/kg to 20c/kg.

O grading bulls are trading from €3.20/kg to €3.35/kg, with P grades back to €3.10/kg.

Northern trade

The trade in the North is solid. Base U-3 steer and heifer quotes range in general from £3.30/kg to £3.34/kg. Sterling has steadied at 85p to the euro in recent days, leaving this price range at the equivalent of €3.88/kg to €3.93/kg and €4.09/kg to €4.14/kg including VAT at 5.4%.

Top returns for heifers are rising to £3.38/kg to £3.40/kg (€4.19/kg to €4.22/kg), with strong demand also present for traditional breed animals.

Cow prices are stronger in cases, with P grading cows starting at £2.30/kg (€2.85/kg incl VAT) and rising to £2.50/kg to £2.60/kg (€3.10/kg to €3.23/kg incl VAT) for good-quality O+3 grading cows.

British prices are also unchanged, with R4L steers and heifers averaging £3.38/kg to £3.40/kg (€4.19/kg to €4.22/kg incl VAT).

Prices are highest in Scotland, with an 8p/kg to 10p/kg differential between prices there and in the south of England.