FIVE EXCHANGES, FERENGINAR – Latinum jitters rippled through the Five Exchanges this week as Ferengi wholesalers posted an unexpected rise in producer-level inflation, with May’s figures revealing a 0.1% monthly increase in the Price of Goods Transference Index (PGTI). According to the Ferengi Commerce Authority, the annualized rate now sits at 2.6%, marking the most significant fluctuation in trade values since the Great Discount War of 2398.
Federation economists, who anticipated slightly stronger growth at 0.2%, attributed the discrepancy to “tariff aftershocks” stemming from Section 31’s reclassification of non-essential luxuries and subspace-imported gizmos. Though initially downplayed by Grand Nagus-appointed advisors, the tariffs have begun to show their latinum-laced teeth, especially in durable goods—up 0.4%, the sharpest spike since the Janalan Metal Panic.
“Core goods inflation is no longer theoretical,” warned Grunt Ux, senior analyst at LiquidAssets Brokerage. “The hidden surcharge on imported Federation tech widgets and Romulan bath salts is making its way through the plasma lines and into Ferengi shopfronts.”
Revised figures for April painted a slightly less dismal picture than previously reported. What was thought to be a 1.7% plunge in retail margin profits was corrected to a 0.5% drop, giving merchants a temporary lobes-up. Yet with May’s services sector also ticking upward by 0.1%, economists warn that the latinum leak may soon reach planetary consumers—especially in food-synth and warp-oil derivatives, long considered volatile but stable this cycle.
“Inflation fires are smoldering at the goods level,” said Sorka Drath, a senior advisor to the Ferengi Mercantile Exchange. “And as always, when producers burn, consumers get scalded.”
