Any increase in demand for finished lambs witnessed in sales last week has by and large been quenched this week, with agents moving to quell any upward movement in price.
This comes as factories send out a more negative price picture and demonstrate a sluggish appetite for sheep.
This leaves a significant number of well-fleshed lambs weighing from 50kg to 54kg selling in the main from €175 to €180/head.
Select lots of top-quality or butcher-type lambs and some heavier types are exceeding the €180 mark in some sales and selling to €185/head.
Numbers moving at these higher prices have declined as the week has progressed in line with factory price pressure.
Lighter lambs weighing from 47kg to 49kg are trading from the mid-€160s to high-€170s, with potential slaughter performance dictating prices in this weight range.
Some marts are reporting higher entries of heavier hoggets, with a number of mart managers commenting that concerns over factory price cuts on heavier lambs is encouraging some producers with poorer negotiating power to market sheep live.
Demand for stores is firm despite the sluggish trade for finished lambs, with prices creeping upwards since the turn of the year in many of the marts.
Top-quality well-presented stores with a good cover of flesh are trading from €3.50/kg to €3.80/kg.
Plainer-quality types and good-quality Scottish Blackface lambs are trading from €3.20/kg to €3.40/kg, with some poor-quality or tail-end lambs selling back to €3/kg and under.
Cull ewes
Cull ewes are a steady trade, with a higher volume of small batches appearing following scanning.
Well-fleshed ewes are selling from €2/kg to €2.20/kg on average, with some better-quality lots rising to €2.30/kg.
Ewes with an average cover of flesh and heavier Scottish Blackface ewes are selling from €1.70/kg to €2/kg, with ewes lacking significant flesh cover selling back to €1.20/kg to €1.50/kg, while very poor-quality ewes are selling back to €1/kg and under in small numbers.
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