The beef trade looked to be gaining some upward momentum towards the end of last week.

However, factories regrouped over the weekend and having gotten their hands on higher numbers to relieve buying pressure are more reluctant to repeat last week’s higher prices.

There are still deals being completed at a higher base of €3.80/kg for steers and €3.90/kg for heifers, but some of these can be described as an insurance policy for factories with cattle not changing hands until later in the week.

Therefore, the general run of prices remains at a base of €3.75/kg for steers and €3.85/kg for heifers.

Cows

Cow throughput continues at a steady level, with demand holding robust.

P+3 grading cows range from €2.95/kg to €3.05/kg, with fleshed O grading Friesians ranging anywhere from €3.00/kg to €3.15/kg, while coloured or continental-cross cows remain capable of securing a 5c/kg to 10c/kg higher price.

This depends on the purchasing plant and numbers on offer.

R grading cows range from €3.35/kg to €3.45/kg, with heavy R and U grading cows attracting strong competition in mart sales.

Bulls

Bull throughput is slowly rising, as can be expected at this time of year.

The general prices reported for R grading bulls range from €3.75/kg to €3.80/kg, with U grades from €3.85/kg to €3.90/kg.

Prices paid to specialist finishers producing bulls to tight specification are 5c/kg to 10c/kg higher, but, in many cases, carcase weight restrictions are kicking in at 420kg to 430kg, with other plants paying to 450kg to 460kg without implementing cuts.

Steady northern trade

Base quotes remain at £3.50/kg to £3.54/kg.

Sterling continues to fluctuate amid Brexit uncertainties and at Monday evening stood at 88.4p to the euro.

This equates the U-3 base quote above to €3.96/kg to €4.00/kg or €4.17/kg to €4.22/kg including VAT at 5.4%.

Regular sellers are pushing base quotes 2p/kg to 4p/kg higher, with top returns rising to £3.60/kg (€4.29/kg incl VAT), while producers with Angus cattle are in a strong selling position and securing the higher returns excluding bonus payments.

The latest AHDB price report shows a slight easing of 0.5p/kg to 1.5p/kg in British steer and heifer prices.

R4L steers average £3.81/kg (€4.55/kg) with R4L heifers averaging £3.78/kg (€4.51/kg).