Among larger steer lines sold on Friday, 160 Angus and Angus cross unweaned steers 5-9 months averaging 236kg from Muttaburra, Northwestern Queensland made 547c/kg, while their 144 sisters 230kg made 443c/kg.

MOST young cattle weight categories showed improvement in pricing in online trading on Friday, after a series of recent declines.

Elders and Nutrien’s AuctionsPlus saw a small rise in cattle listings after a couple of quiet weeks, with the catalogue reaching 9975 head. Clearance remained unchanged on the previous week at 81pc.

All five steer categories showed green ink, with heavy feeders +400kg up 28c to average 547c, after consistent downwards price pressure since early July. Clearance of the offering of 615 head remained subdued, however, at 46pc.

NSW led supply with 3900 head, down 1pc week on week. Queensland contributed 3,600 head, up 6pc, while Victoria offered 1000 head, up 1pc.

Steers 330-400kg rose 11c to average 573c/kg, with a strong 90pc clearance of 1100 offered, while the280-330kg steers gained 36c to average 592c, clearing 88pc of the 800 offered.

Lighter steers 200-280kg lifted 1c to average 564c/kg clearing 96pc of the 1850 offered, while lightweight steers less than 200kg were too few in number to quote reliably.

Steer highlights included 38 Angus steers 8-12 months averaging 270kg from Yeoval, NSW, returned or 638c/kg and will travel to a buyer near Glenrowan West, VIC.

Among larger steer lines sold on Friday, 160 Angus and Angus cross unweaned steers 5-9 months averaging 236kg from Muttaburra, Northwestern Queensland made 547c/kg, while their 144 sisters 230kg made 443c/kg.

Out of Springsure in Central Queensland, 120 Droughtmaster backgrounder steers 243kg at 9-11 months made 499c/kg.

Heifers in the medium weight ranges recorded solid gains, while lighter and heavy descriptions lost further ground. Heifers less than 200kg eased 5c to average 480c/kg, while 200-280kg lines lifted 21c to average 501c, clearing 98pc of the 1440 offered. The 280-330kg category jumped 55c to average 529c, clearing 76pc of the 1123 offered, while 330-400kg heifers gained 15c to average 512c, clearing 81pc of the 969 offered. Heifers +400kg averaged 520c/kg, down 55c, but there were only 239 offered, clearing 87pc.

Sixteen 16 Angus heifers 11-12 months averaging 321kg from Burrumbuttock, NSW returned 546c/kg and will travel to a buyer near Finley, NSW.

Breeding females

Breeding females experienced weaker clearance rates across almost all categories.

SM cows averaged $2100, down $195, with a 76pc clearance. SM cows and calves dropped $787 to $2076/pair but cleared 100pc. PTIC cows averaged $1745, but cleared just 13pc of 400 offered. NSM cows and calves eased $156 to $2,704/pair with a 68pc clearance.

A line of 26 Shorthorn non-station mated cows & calves 37-38 months averaging 690kg from Koorawatha, NSW, returned $3260 and will travel to a buyer near Korumburra, VIC.

Source: AuctionsPlus