Cattle markets have steadies in 2024 after the wild swings of 2023 and 2022.

The EYCI is still weaker than YOY, but  according to Mercado better prices are likely over the coming weeks, with current fundamentals it making “prices tanking in the same fashion they did last year” unlikely.

According to Mercado analyst Angus Brown, 2020 is the closest match for current conditions with the strong increase at the start of 2020 similar to December 2023.  From March onwards in 2020, volatility decreased and prices tracked slowly upwards. Slaughter started higher in 2020 and waned during the year, with a good season and herd rebuild helping price improvements. For cattle prices to improve over rest of 2024 a tightening in supply is required, according to Brown.