Producer prices have risen in almost every European country this week. The long-anticipated rises promised by market analysts seems to have arrived, as more settled weather and the start of the holiday season appear to be translating into higher returns.

This week marked a second, and often considerable, increase for many of the EU's major pig keeping states. German analysts from industry group ISN said, "The demand for meat is fuelled by the nice weather, and as a result of these high temperatures, the pigs grow slower. Correspondingly, too few pigs mature for slaughter are available… to cover the slaughter companies' demand."

In Germnay, prices rose highest of all, registering a six cents increase on last weeks. The Netherlands and Belgium enjoyed similar increases and in Austria and France the price went up by 5 cents.

The corrected Spanish price vaulted the limit of 1.90 euros per kg slaughter weight for the first time this year. due to the continued supply-demand imbalance, prices are set to increase over the coming weeks. ISN said prices "are expected to remain steady at least for the week to come."