Welcome to the Elders Insights' Weekly Market Summary for the week 1 to 7 December 2025. We recap what’s happened on the Australian commodity markets over the past week and influencing factors.
Weather
A mostly clear week for major agricultural regions except for far northern Australia, central and eastern Victoria and Tasmania which had 10 to 50mm.
The forecast is looking wetter for northern Australia, south-east Queensland, most of NSW, eastern Victoria and Tasmania, where 15 to 100mm is possible in the next week.
Get weather forecasts for your region on Elders Weather.
Australian Dollar
The Australian $ is edging higher to 66.4USc, with key central bank decisions due this week. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is likely to keep local rates on hold while the US Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut US rates by 25pts which will underpin support for the Australian $.
Livestock
Local feeder and restocker cattle markets weakened by around 4 per cent, but slaughter ready cattle held their value as the market prepares for the end of year slow-down. Quotes for 90CL Australian manufacturing beef in the US were 25USc/lb (-6per cent or A84c/kg) lower this week as the market reestablishes itself on an anticipated lift in Brazilian beef offers following Trumps decision to revoke the US tariff on Brazilian beef. There could be some downside volatility in saleyards this week, which is not unusual for this time of year, as the Queensland processing sector is winding down for seasonal closure. This week will be the last for some northern works as most Queensland plants are knocking off Friday week till mid-January.
Sheepmeat markets held their value as yardings begin to taper off. Store lambs are still selling well at $150 to 220/head. Bag trade orders are starting to reappear in the south but having difficulty competing with restockers north of Wagga. Good trade lambs are $200 to 300/head depending on freshness, with heavy export lambs $300 to 380/head, down from their peak over $400/head but still a good number. Sheep and lamb supplies look to be constrained until at least spring 2026, although supplies of heavy lambs may improve with store lambs placed on feed coming out of feedlots early next year.
View livestock for sale and our sales calendar listings.
Grain
No change in sentiment or prices. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is likely to confirm bulging US and global grain stocks this Wednesday. Chinese buying so far has been disappointing, with US officials starting to retract comments regarding the size of Chinese buying soybean commitments.
Local canola bids weakened with a sharp easing in international values on larger Canadian supply (Statistics Canada raised Canadian 2025/26 production estimates by around 10 per cent last week) and a rising Australian $. Sorghum bids continue to strength while cereals were a tad weaker but growers in the north seem to have put the cue in the rack till after holidays. The west and south are still harvesting. A week of hot, dry weather will progress harvest rapidly across southern Australia, which may lead to some harvest selling pressure, although southern end users have some buying to do to cover January positions.
Trade your grain at your price on the secure GCX platform.
Wool
The Eastern Market Indicator (EMI) climbed 17c/kg to 1,521Ac/kg - a strong performance given the strength in the Australian $. Fine and medium micron wools were in most demand. Offerings declined 15 pc while the clearance rate increased to 95pc, reflecting strong competition among buyers. The total weight of wool tested for November 2025 was down 14.2pc compared with November 2024 confirming the trend of lower supply.
Learn the many ways we support wool growers.
Sugar
Raw sugar settled down at 14.80USc/lb, a weekly loss of 2.7pc. Brazil exported 3.3mt of sugar in November. This is 2.6pc less than a year ago but still a large monthly amount. Drier-than-normal weather in Centre-South Brazil is helping to underpin the market and keeping prices above last month's five-year low.
Cotton
Local cotton prices eased to $544/bale (-$6/bale for the week) northern NSW on a stronger Australian $. Markets have factored in another lift in Brazilian production so any shortfalls could provide market upside. The other factor markets are looking at for support are US export sales, but they continue to be only routine.
Learn about the many ways Elders helps cotton growers.
Spotlight on: South America
South America is an agricultural powerhouse and is fast becoming the world’s food basket.
Brazil has enormous capability as an agricultural producer with the past two decades since 2010 seeing extraordinary growth in agricultural exports. Growth in beef exports (+147 pc) has been mirrored by growth in soybeans (+276pc), pork (+166pc) and poultry exports (+47pc).
This chart shows annual beef exports from Brazil vs Australia. Source: USDA.
The information contained in this article is given for the purpose of providing general information only, and while Elders has exercised reasonable care, skill and diligence in its preparation, many factors (including environmental and seasonal) can impact its accuracy and currency. Accordingly, the information should not be relied upon under any circumstances and Elders assumes no liability for any loss consequently suffered. If you would like to speak to someone for tailored advice relating to any of the matters referred to in this article, please contact Elders.