A SMALLER offering of sheep and lambs assisted the AuctionsPlus clearance rate last week.
A total of 66,266 commercial sheep and lambs were offered, down 24 percent on the previous week’s offering.
The third consecutive weekly drop in overall listings assisted higher clearance rates at the immediate closure of the auction, hitting 57 percent, AuctionsPlus said.
Post-sale negotiations led to the overall clearance rate increasing to 69pc, the highest clearance rate across the sheep and lamb sales for the month of March.
Lambs accounted for 54pc of the total offering last week, with 35,932 head offered across the six main categories. Average prices for all but two lamb categories averaged higher week-on-week.
The crossbred lambs sold out of the 8126 offered averaged $148, down $6. While the category was one of the few seeing a decline in prices for the week, demand for the reduced offering was strong, and the second highest clearance rate of 88pc was achieved.
The Merino wether lambs offering of 14,364 head was the largest for the second consecutive week, accounting for 22pc of total listings. Prices for the category ranged from $115-$157 and averaged $140, up $14. An indicative line consisting of 420 lambs weighing 38kg liveweight at Merriwa, New South Wales, made $140/head.
Merino ewe lamb numbers and clearance rates were slightly back, with 1978 head offered and a 79pc clearance achieved. The average price rose $7 to $190. A highlight for the category was 120 lambs weighing 42.7kg at Parkes, NSW, that sold for $195.
There were 2889 first cross ewe lambs offered and a 57pc were sold for $180-$277 and averaging $214, $10 down.
The 18m756 joined ewes offered accounted for 28pc of the total catalogue. The decline in listings supported higher prices for four of the eight reported categories on last week, with buyers willing to dig deeper into their pockets for quality joined breeding lines, AuctionsPlus said.
Scanned in-lamb Merino ewes were the largest joined ewe category and the clearance rate for the 8692 head listed rose from 52pc at the close of Tuesday’s auctions to 62pc by the end of the week. They made $200-$368 and averaged $271, up $39. Topping the category were 91 rising three year-old ewes weighing 68.5kg at Boorowa, NSW.
Scanned in-lamb first cross ewes sold for an average price of $303, up $25. The clearance rate rose from 53pc post-sale on Tuesday to 63pc by late Thursday for the 2879 head offered. Scanned in-lamb composite/other breed ewes returned the highest clearance across all categories, at 96pc, with the category averaging $254, down $33. A highlight from the category was the $399 paid for 142 rising three year-old Dohne ewes weighing 68.9kg at Tennyson in Victoria.
Station-mated shedding breed ewes registered a broad range in prices, largely in line with quality and bloodlines. They made $170-$814 and averaged $416, up $128, for the 2249 head offered.
NOTE: Prices as at 5pm, Thursday 31st March 2022
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