Good news if you’re looking for a car: the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index showed that wholesale used-vehicle prices saw their largest monthly decline of -4.2%.  Other than the -11.4% pandemic-induced drop in April 2020 when prices plummeted because you risked death by entering into a confined space that had potentially been inhabited by an unknown threat, this month is the best time to buy a gently used car. So hooray for me. The news that vehicle prices are disinflationary will keep interest rates from moving upward.

Transitioning toward car dealers themselves; small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy.  The NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index rose last month but remains below the 49-year average of 98, which, for all you non-mathematicians is still less than 100.  The takeaway is that owners of small businesses are always cautiously optimistic, which is to say “nervous”.

As for the price of everything else, tomorrow brings us the Consumer Price Index, which accounts for 2/3 of the spending done in the U.S. With a war on inflation going on, it’s a big deal, and the headline Index is expected to drop to 3.1% from last month’s 4.0% gain.  That expectation is build in, and a lesser-drop could spark further increases in interest rates.