There has been no real change in the lamb trade over the last week.

Factory agents continue to try to apply downward pressure on the trade, but with sale entries remaining low, it is helping to keep a level of stability, albeit fragile, in sales.

Lowland lambs weighing from 47kg to 50kg are trading on average from €174 to €183/head, with excellent-quality heavier lambs hitting €185 and over in cases.

Lambs weighing from 51kg to 53kg are trading in the main from €180 to €188, with interest from butcher buyers pushing prices on occasion to €190/head and higher.

Prices paid for lighter lots weighing 43kg to 45kg are highly dependent on flesh cover and potential slaughter performance.

Prices here range in the main from €168 to €175 for fleshed lambs, but are dropping back to €160 and lower for lambs with a poor cover of flesh.

Likewise, lambs weighing 41kg to 42kg are selling from €3.80/kg to upwards of €3.95/kg or €150 to the low €160s, with plainer-quality types falling below the €150 mark.

A small number of store lambs weighing 34kg to 36kg were reported in some sales this week, with prices highly variable.

The general run of prices ranged from €3.40/kg to €3.70/kg, with some top-quality lots hitting €3.80/kg to €4/kg.

Hogget numbers are nearly entirely confined to ewe hoggets at this stage, with significant numbers on offer in some marts for the time of year.

Nice-quality well-grown hoggets weighing in excess of 60kg are trading from €190 to €230 in the main, with heavier types and some top-quality lots rising to €250 to €270 and as high as €300 on rare occasions.

The cull ewe trade is sluggish, with fleshed lowland types selling from €2.10/kg to €2.40/kg on average.

Some-excellent quality types, including purebred lots, are trading to €2.50/kg to €2.60/kg, but numbers are small.

Ewes lacking flesh cover have fallen back below the €2/kg mark, with hill ewes selling anywhere from €1/kg to €1.45/kg for light ewes and from €1.65/kg to €1.90/kg-plus for heavier carcase types.