Demand for lambs remains strong, but the recent reduction in factory prices has reduced the purchasing power of agents ringside.

Prices for factory-type lambs have reduced anywhere from €3 to €8 on average, with some marts which experienced an above-average trade in recent weeks reporting prices falling by as much as €10 per head for factory types.

Heavier lambs weighing 47kg upwards are trading from €150 to €160 in the main, with select lots of quality butcher-type lambs rising to the mid-€160s and, in rare cases, to as high as €170 for exceptional quality lambs.

Factory-type lambs weighing 42kg to 45kg are trading in a wide differential, with prices starting from €140 or slightly lower where lambs are lacking flesh and are likely to kill poorly to as high as €155 to €158 for young well-fleshed lots with a good kill-out potential.

The numbers of lighter lambs coming on stream is slowly increasing and, again, quality is having a major influence on price.

Lambs weighing 37kg to 40kg are selling on average in a price range of €100 to €110 for lighter or plainer-quality types to €120 to €125 for better-quality lots.

The hogget trade is all but finished in many marts, with the exception of ewe hoggets.

Where fleshed hoggets are on offer, prices range in general from €145 to €165.

There is a strong appetite for ewe hoggets with breeding potential, with medium-quality lots ranging from €150 to €175 and select lots of top-quality lots rising to €190 to €200.

The cull ewe trade is steady, with buyers outside of the core factory grouping continuing to drive the trade for heavy ewes.

Prices range from €130 to €165 in the main, but as high as €170 to €175 has been paid for well-bred lowland ewes weighing upwards of 90kg.

The number of ewes with lambs at foot on offer is starting to drop off sharply in some marts. The trade remains firm, but it is hard to put a range on prices given the gulf in quality and age of lambs on offer.

Good-quality ewes with lambs aged five to six weeks of age at foot are trading from €220 to €260 on average, with strong lamb units and younger ewes rising to €300.

Single lamb lots range from €120 to €160 for aged ewes and poorer-quality lambs to upwards of €200 for hoggets or ewes with a strong lamb at foot.