The volatility in currency markets, and especially the Australian dollar, over the past week has seen many US buyers become increasingly cautious, with concerns remaining about the ability of US end-users to absorb higher meat prices.

US import beef prices were lower across all manufacturing items last week, with 90CL prices slipping back for the fourth consecutive week, down 3¢, to 163US¢/lb - but still 26% above the same period last year.

While the drop in the Australian dollar more than offset the lower US prices for Australian exporters for the past week, buying is likely to remain tentative until some stability returns to the currency.

However, the much higher prices on-year is starting to slowly see more Australian product sent to the market, after a very slow start to the year - with 11,900 tonnes sent to May 17, around 30% higher than the April shipment rate.