Weekly cattle and sheep market wrap – 9 July 2026

Deadweight prices cover Great Britain (GB) for the week ending 4 July. Liveweight prices cover England & Wales (E&W) for the week ending 5 July.

• Cattle prices rise across most categories’ week-on-week.
• Lamb prices continue their recent downward trend, but domestic demand remaining strong.
• Throughput recovered across both cattle and sheep week-on-week from the heatwave causing logistical issue.

GB finished cattle prices continue to recover week-on-week across all categories, with all prime average deadweight price finishing the week ending 4 July at 597p/kg, up 1p.  

Overall average steer prices rose just under 1p week-on-week reaching 598p/kg, while the overall average heifer price rose 2p on the week, finishing at 600p/kg. Overall young bulls rose 3p on, ending the week averaging 585p/kg.

With prices firming, cattle throughput has recovered. Estimated prime cattle slaughter grew by more than 2,000 head during the week. This could be due to last week's fall in throughput due to extreme weather, livestock market closures and transportation disruptions.

The overall cow price shrunk 3p on the week to 487p/kg, after a 7p rise the week prior. This price is now down 16p year-on-year, but up 110p on the five-year average. Cow cull slaughtering remained unchanged from the week prior, ending at 7,000 head.

Looking forward, temperatures are expected to be high, which could result in continued logistical issues, affecting throughputs and prices.  

Sheep prices and slaughter numbers continue to go down, with seasonal demand, hot weather and softening continental demand all contributing.

GB deadweight prices follow their downward trend again in the latest reporting week. The new season lamb price dropped by 39p on the week finishing at 831p/kg. Prices are still following the typical seasonal trends but still sit 96p/kg higher year-on-year.

The liveweight NSL SQQ price fell 26p on the week, ending up at 389p/kg. Live cull ewe prices fell by £1/head after prices recovered the week prior, sitting at £161/kg. (according to data from LAA)

Estimated kill of clean sheep was down by 7,000 head to 167,000 head in the latest week’s data.

Liveweight market throughputs were up 12,000, finishing at 57,000 head of NSLs. This could be a recovery after the issues caused by the heat wave in the previous week.

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