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Data: Cox Automotive; Chart: Axios Visuals

High used car prices are a post-COVID fact of life — but a key data point offers some hope.

Why it matters: An unprecedented surge in used vehicle prices was an early and essential driver of post-pandemic inflation. 

What's happening: The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, a gauge of wholesale market prices for used vehicles, dropped for its second straight month. 

That's the largest monthly decline since April 2020, during the worst of the pandemic recession. 

Wholesale prices for used vehicles — Manheim adjusts for age, mileage and other attributes —  are now 5.4% lower than their January peak of $21,754.  

The big question: Whether the recent dip proves short-lived, given the fresh supply chain snarls set off by the war in Ukraine and China's most recent round of lockdowns. 

Used car prices are starting to decline

The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, a gauge of wholesale market prices for used vehicles, dropped for its second straight month.

Inflation

High used car prices are a post-COVID fact of life — but a key data point offers some hope.Why it matters: An unprecedented surge in used vehicle prices was an early and essential driver of post-pandemic inflation.

After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

Used car prices are starting to decline

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