Agsafe Weekly Rural Report

Finance:  The NZ dollar was steady through the week but finished the week marginally up on the previous week.  The proposed government spending in the budget is likely to lift the OCR again which must be of concern to all business operators.

Wool:  Wool remains in the doldrums with no exciting developments on the horizon.     

Beef, Sheep & Venison schedules: All meat schedules are mostly steady with only minor intercompany changes for the coming week.  The beef industry is positive about the medium-term future with schedules showing some early upward movement.

Dairy Prices:  in spite of earlier predictions the g/DT dropped 0.9% which surprised many commentators.  WMP lifted by 0.3% while SMP fell 1.6%.  Butter was up 2.2%.  Payout predictions are still on target and Fonterra should announce the opening farm-gate expectations with the week