Reports indicate factory agent buyers in marts are trying to insert downward pressure on lamb prices as the week has progressed.

Some sales held on Wednesday reported prices easier by €2 to €4/head.

Numbers remain relatively small for the time of year, which is helping competition, but agents are much coyer in their purchasing behaviour.

Fleshed lowland lambs weighing 49kg to 51kg are trading from €180 to €185, with occasional lots of top-quality lambs or heavier lots selling to €190 and higher.

Numbers hitting such prices were more common earlier in the week.

Lambs weighing 47kg to 48kg range from €170 to €180, with kill-out potential having a big say on price.

Lambs weighing 45kg to 46kg are selling in the main from €165 to €174, but lower prices are being recorded for lambs likely to kill poorly.

The number of store lambs on offer is small, which is not surprising given the time of year and also the fact that numbers in the system appear lower. Demand is reported as firm, with some buyers out early looking.

Some managers comment that high cattle prices, tight supplies and favourable grass growth are boosting demand.

Price reports are variable. Typical prices are in the region of €3.50/kg to €3.85/kg for lambs weighing 36kg to upwards of 40kg. However, there are certain batches which have hit upwards of €4/kg for well-presented lots in good condition. Numbers are very hard to gauge the trade on.

The cull ewe trade is firmer in some sales, with a steadying in factory prices and drop in hogget kill helping demand.

The general run of prices for fleshed ewes is in the region of €2.20/kg to €2.60/kg for good-quality ewes, but there has been some reports of ewes hitting as high as €2.70/kg to €3/kg for well-conformed ewes traded in small numbers.

Ewes with an average cover of flesh are trading back to under €2/kg, but demand for feeding ewes is helping to keep a floor under the trade. Scottish Blackface types are trading from €1.50/kg to €1.80/kg for larger ewes and back to €1/kg for light poorer-quality types.