IDEX Polished Price Index Dips in May
June 04, 25
(IDEX Online) - The IDEX Polished Price Index dipped during May, closing the month down 1.37 per cent.
Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs on 2 April prompted a brief, two-day surge in prices the previous month, resulting in a slight increase of 0.58 per cent.
They have been in gradual decline since then, as caution and uncertainty persist.
The reciprocal tariffs remain on a 90-day pause, which is due to expire on 9 July.
In the meantime, one US court has ruled that the tariffs are not legally enforceable, while another overturned that ruling pending a further hearing this week.
On top of that there's the traditional lull before the biggest trade event of the year, JCK Las Vegas, which opens on Friday (6 June).
The overall trend remains downwards, as it has since early 2022. Prices are lower than when the Index was launched in July 2004, benchmarked at 100. It closed the month at 93.57.
Month-to-month prices in May were down 1.1 per cent, following on from a slight 0.6 per cent increase the previous month. In the 38 months since March 2022 there have been only four monthly increases.
Year-to-year prices were down again in May, their 30th consecutive month of negative growth, down 11.4 per cent, compared to 11.1 per cent the previous month.
Prices for all sizes shown below fell during May, albeit by no more than 1.8 per cent. This is a notable reversal from April, when all goods except 4.0-cts and 5.0-cts saw slight increases.
Year-on-year price movements in May were broadly similar to those the previous month - declines in all goods shown below, with 0.5-cts and 1.0-cts being hit hardest One notable exception was 5.0-cts goods, which fell by 13.7 per cent in May, compared to 8.4 per cent in April.
Year-on-year prices were down for all sizes shown below, which is unusual. Last month, despite a general decline, there were slight increases for 4.0-cts and 5.0-cts goods.
