The US market for imported beef remained quiet last week, with the recent volatility in the currency markets continuing to have traders cautious for forward orders.

Adding to this cautious beef price outlook has been the sideways nature of US end-user demand. Memorial Day holiday (May 31) signals the start of the peak demand grilling season, with US retailers hoping for good weather to boost sales.

Both US imported and domestic beef prices cooled last week - with imported 90CL prices now back 7% in the past five weeks, settling at 161US¢/lb CIF. However, displaying the impact of the lower Australian dollar over the same period, indicative returns to Australian exports are up 4%, settling this week at 394A¢ (334US¢)/kg FAS.

The higher returns for the US during May, averaging 14% above the same period last year, has started to see more Australian beef heading to the US. Shipments for May are anticipated to be around 25,000 tonnes swt – the highest monthly volume for the past year - but still below the 28,000 tonnes swt average for the past five years.

Higher US domestic beef supplies through to May have partially offset lower imports from Australia, NZ and Uruguay, which combined, are down 34% on-year.