These 33kg June-July 2023 drop Merino wethers lambs at Kingston in South Australia sold for $45 on AuctionsPlus last week.

AUCTIONSPLUS sheep and lamb listings increased 18 percent to 63,528 last week, driven by a 200pc lift in the Merino wether lamb offering.

Most of the numbers were represented in the Merino lines, with all categories seeing substantial increases on last week.

The Merino wether lamb offering increased to 20,022 head and other lamb numbers rose 6pc.

Apart from this, AuctionsPlus said the additional supply came mainly from the unjoined sheep lines that lifted 57pc to 23,991 head.

Despite the larger supply, the market held relatively steady. Clearance at 58pc showed only a 5 percentage point decrease on the previous week and prices were mostly flat, with average prices rising in six categories and falling in three categories.

Highlighting the longevity in negotiations between buyers and sellers for passed-in stock, AuctionsPlus said the previous week’s reported clearance of 63pc at the end of the week reached 74pc by last Friday, a rise of 11pc.

AuctionsPlus said new season lamb numbers continue to slowly rise week-on-week, with last week’s 38,008 head being met with strong demand. About 71pc of the offering found a buyer and the prices averaged $7 above set reserve levels. Processors continue to look online to fill orders, with 10pc of the sold yarding heading to works, AuctionsPlus said.

The number of crossbred lambs offered dropped 49pc to 10,129. The drop in supply resulted in strong competition, with the category achieving an 87pc clearance and the average price rising $8 to $61. At Koraleigh in Victoria, 415 May/June 2023 drop Poll Dorset/Merino cross mixed sex lambs weighing 42kg lwt sold for $85 or 205c/kg lwt.

AuctionsPlus said 78pc of the Merino wether lambs were sold and the average price dropped $3 to $45. The larger offering was a result of a surge in listings in South Australia, with 82pc of the 16,427 SA lambs selling, while the overall wether lamb offering posted a 78pc clearance. At Coomandook in SA, 315 March/April 2023 drop Merino wether lambs weighing 53kg sold for the top price of $195.