WHEN it comes to buying beef for dinner the household budget has been squeezed even further as retail beef prices hit record levels.
During the September quarter retail beef prices averaged $17.77 a kilogram, up nine per cent year-on-year and the highest nominal value ever.
It was also the eighth consecutive quarter beef prices had risen, with the price surge starting in the second half of 2013 from a base of $15.09/kg.
Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) report the retail rise was under the pressure of tightening domestic cattle supplies and strong export competition.
However, MLA point out the increase in cattle prices has far outstripped the rise at the retail level, lifting the producer share to its highest level on records going back to 1998.
Exports for October, calculated by Department of Agriculture, indicated another lift, with beef and veal shipments for the month totalling 102,885 tonnes (shipped weight).
This was about a 1.25pc increase on September, while the year-to-October total was up 18,870t or nearly 2pc when compared with the same period last year.
Back in the saleyards, current cattle prices have surged higher again following widespread rain across the east coast in the past week.
The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) has also continued its recovery climbing above 550c/kg (carcase weight) on Monday.
By Tuesday night the indicator had hit 563.5c/kg which was 23.5c/kg higher than at the same time a week ago.
Sales on Monday at Forbes, Tamworth and Wagga were standouts for market strength and all averaged above 560c/kg for young cattle.
It appears to be yearling steers dragging the market higher.
For example, on Tuesday yearling steers contributed 54.5pc to the EYCI calculation and averaged 595.7c/kg while yearling heifers were averaging about 40c/kg lower.
Mecardo analyst Augusto Semmelroth was of the view that even though the EYCI had rallied it remained undervalued.
As the year draws closer to an end, Mr Semmelroth explained cattle markets rechannel attention from the south to the north, and this year wouldn't be any different.
"The main difference this time, however, is that whatever happens in the northern half of Australia later this year will have an unprecedented flow-on effect across the board," he said.
"The underlying premise is simple.
"Despite the record prices this year, cattle market performance has been largely tempered by ongoing challenging conditions."
Mr Semmelroth said this was particularly the case for store and young cattle.
As the herd approaches a forecast 20-year low of 26.1 million head in 2016, he said young cattle would become a rare commodity.
"We have been repeating this for two years now, but we will highlight it again," he said.
"The EYCI remains fundamentally undervalued against finished lines.
"This means that the indicator remains around parity to heavy steer prices.
"This is a clear indication that restocker demand remains lacklustre and the forthcoming impact of the herd rebuild phase is yet to be felt."