Factories have been applying pressure and reducing quotes by 5c/kg and this has already filtered down to mart trade.

Both heifers and bullocks felt a similar dip ringside in the past week.

That said, the mart trade is still working off an incredible high, with €2.20 to €2.25 the average price paid for most weights.

The bottom third of bullocks sold weighing 600kg plus saw average prices drop by 9c/kg

Lesser-quality fed steers felt the biggest hit this week.

The bottom third of bullocks sold weighing 600kg plus saw average prices drop by 9c/kg. This means that average here rests at €1.96/kg.

While a substantial hit, it’s worth noting that this price is up 17c/kg on the same week last year.

Heifers

It was a similar for lesser-quality heifers, with a price drop of 8c/kg. This again is a massive 19c/kg higher than last year.

While it may seem a big drop, prices for all heifers and bullocks are currently running at €120 per head above last year’s prices.

Mart managers are also reporting that €2.50/kg plus is still freely on offer for better-quality lots.

One point to note about fed bullocks and heifers is that we may now start to see more supply. Many spring 2019-born cattle will be pushing close to the 30-month mark so farmers may be eager to sell.

Lighter store cattle or short-keep cattle didn’t feel the pinch as much, with around 5c/kg the difference across the weight limits.

We are likely to see this increase again in next week’s data

Looking at the data, the worst affected here were better-quality short-keep lots, which again are feeling the effects of factories pulling price.

Heifer weanling numbers were down substantially on the week, but this is largely because many special sales took place the previous week or are scheduled for the coming week.

We are likely to see this increase again in next week’s data. For this reason, we have excluded heavy weanling heifer prices – it wouldn’t give a true reflection of trade.

Sub-300kg cattle also saw a slight increase on the week but the top-quality lots dropped by 9c/kg

Lighter weanling heifers continue to be in demand and were one of the only categories which saw an increase in average price on the past week.

The most common weight category is 300kg to 400kg, which saw a rise of 5c/kg.

Sub-300kg cattle also saw a slight increase on the week but the top-quality lots dropped by 9c/kg.

That said, the average remains at an incredible €3.10/kg. Last week’s figure may have also been a bit high given the quality on offer at some specialised shows and sales across the country.

Weanling bulls

Heavier weanling bulls eased slightly but those in the most common weight categories fell significantly.

Prices for bulls from 300kg to 400kg dropped by 13c/kg. This is the equivalent of a drop of €40-50 per head. This difference increases to 17c/kg for better-quality, lots or an extra €10/head.

It’s still quite early in the season and most marts have started a weekly weanling sale so prices will stabilise much more

A lot of this could be because we are now in mid-August and have seen a significant portion of the top-quality early autumn weanlings at marts, with the bulk of better-quality later-born weanlings still to come out.

It’s still quite early in the season and most marts have started a weekly weanling sale so prices will stabilise much more.

Cull cow prices remain very strong, with all lots sold averaging €1.75/kg. This increases to €2.18/kg for the top third of lots sold.