Cattle futures shot close to a record high after vast swathes of one of Australia's biggest ranching states were declared disaster zones from flooding, Bloomberg reports.
The Eastern Young Cattle Indicator climbed $4.108 ($4.06 in USD), which pushed it to its highest value since Autumn 2005. Costs and expenses attributable to damage wrought by severe flooding as are expected to be at least $7 billion in Australian currency, according to Ausbil Dexia. The monsoon season is just beginning, and it's expected to continue for the next three months, so there could be more pain in the future for ranchers Down Under.
"We do normally see disruptions in Queensland through the January, February, March period," Tim McRae, economist at Meat & Livestock Australia, told Bloomberg from Sydney. "But the scale and the infrastructure damage with this one is of a whole different level."
He said there is a likelihood of exporting delays from Brisbane.
February-delivery cattle futures slipped 0.3 percent Thursday morning.
Brazil is the globe's top beef exporter.
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