The lamb trade for the most part has remained similar to last week, with the exception of a few price increases at some marts.
The increase seen has been anywhere from €2-4/head for fleshed lambs and forward stores mainly.
With some upward movement in factory lamb prices in the latter part of this week, it may well see some more positive upward movement over the weekend into the early part of next week.
Looking at the trade, well-fleshed lambs weighing in excess of 47-48kg are generally trading upwards of €130-135/head, with lambs generally weighing over 50kg pushing returns above €137-140/head to €145-147/head, and even exceeding above €150/head at some sales this week.
Lambs lacking flesh but with frame, in the 45-50kg plus weight bracket are selling from €118-130/head in general, with more plainer and crossbred types selling below this range.
There has been no drop off in demand for ewe lambs, with highest prices for heavy types exceeding that of butcher-type lambs at sales to as high as €150-158/head.
The trade for forward stores continues to perform well, with many lambs selling upwards of €100/head to high of €115-120/head and €2-4/head more in cases.
The trade for long-keep stores however is continuing to be much stickier, with demand not as strong here for these lighter lambs. Prices have been ranging anywhere from just over €50-60/head for hill-bred lambs and up to €85-95/head for lowland-bred lambs.