Factories have tried to apply some pressure to this week’s trade, but most have failed in dropping quotes to any great extent.

For the second week in a row, some agents threatened the move at the end of last week, but it hasn’t materialised.

Agents appear to be using the age-old tactic of prophesising a price drop to keep cattle moving. That said, some farmers did experience some delays in getting cattle booked in last week, with some waiting longer than normal to get stock killed.

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Bullocks are working off a base quote of €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, with the higher quotes reserved for those dealing in bigger numbers.

On the heifer side, it’s a similar story, with heifers working off a base price of €7.10/kg to €7.20/kg.

Breed bonuses are still being paid at the rate of 15c to 20c/kg for in-spec Hereford and Aberdeen Angus bullocks and heifers, with some factories also offering a little higher bonus for those with bigger numbers.

Cows

The cow trade is also very steady, with R grading cows being priced at €6.80/kg to €6.90/kg.

U grading cows are still trading at €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg, with as high as €7.30/kg being paid for a load of good-quality cows this week all grading R and U.

O grading cows are being bought for €6.60/kg to €6.70/kg. P+3 cows are coming in at €6.30/kg to €6.40/kg.

Bulls

Bulls have probably held the best out of all categories of stock, with R grading bulls still coming in at €7.30/kg and U grading bulls at €7.40/kg.

Specialised bull finishers have been able to squeeze a little more out of some processors.

Under-16-month bulls are working off a €7.00/kg to €7.10/kg base price to go on the grid.