Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap – 26 June 2026

Deadweight prices cover Great Britain (GB) for the week ending 20 June. Liveweight prices cover England & Wales (E&W) for the week ending 21 June.

• Prime cattle prices rose week-on-week as we start to see a levelling of the market following price falls.
• Cow prices also appear to have balanced at 483p/kg with kill numbers remaining tight.
• Lamb prices fell across the board in line with seasonal trends, but supplies coming through both the live and deadweight markets remain lower.

GB finished cattle prices look to have steadied over the last few weeks, with the all prime average rising 1p on the week to 593p/kg.

Overall average steer prices rose just over 2p week-on-week reaching 596p/kg, while the overall average heifer price sat at to 594p/kg, a 1p rise on the week. The young bull category dipped 2p this week, finishing at 576p/kg.

GB estimated slaughter of prime cattle fell by 200 head in the week ending 20 June, finishing at 30,900 head.

The average cow price dropped 0.5p on the week reaching 483p/kg in the latest reporting week. Meanwhile, cull cow slaughter numbers were down 300 head on the week prior, finishing at 7,400 head. Cow slaughter for the year to date remains 2% behind the same period of 2025, with supplies back significantly over the last month.

Globally, the Irish deadweight price has dipped in line with the GB price. Australia’s price has risen sharply, driven by strong export growth, and the US price remains up underpinned by supply remaining tight. New Zealand’s beef price remains steady over the last months. Falls in Irish prices will have weight on domestic pricing, as our closese trading partner, however globally we remain in a strong pricing environment, with tight global supply underpinning values.

Sheep prices dropped in the week ending 20 June, but they remain historically strong. The deadweight NSL SQQ lost 32p on the week to land at 906p/kg, in line with seasonal patterns of a substantial price drop at this time of year following key demand periods and as spring lambs come forward. The price still sits 158p/kg higher year-on-year.

Liveweight prices also fell again this week, with the NSL SQQ losing 16p to finish the week ending 21 June at 438p/kg.

Old season lamb supplies are now finishing up, but the OSL SQQ also eased across both the live and deadweight markets.

Estimated slaughter of clean sheep fell on the week, with supply tightness continuing to underpin prices as NSL numbers forward remain quite limited.

Numbers of lambs heading through the livestock markets remain tight, with the OSL numbers falling away quicker and the NSL numbers rising more steadily than the year previous.

Figure 1: Weekly auction market throughputs of new (NSL) and old (OSL) season lambs

Source: LAA and AHDB

The line chart in Figure 1 shows trends in auction market throughputs of old (OSL) and new (NSL) season lambs between 2026 and 2025. OSL 2025 is shown in light navy, OSL 2026 in dark navy, NSL 2025 in light green, OSL 2026 in dark green.

© Livestock Auctioneers Association Limited 2026. All rights reserved.

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