Value retention for car segments is at a six-month high, according to Black Book, and the movement in one particular segment is proving to be “an encouraging sign.”

Overall, car segments saw a 0.39-percent depreciation rate last week, the company reported in the latest Black Book Market Insights report. It was at 0.43 percent for the four weeks prior.

And compact cars, in particular, have shown some uncharacteristic strength. Their values were down 0.19 percent last week, the second-lowest drop (percentage-wise) among car segments last week, according to Black Book.

The most significant decrease among cars was for the near-luxury car (down 0.68 percent) and the premium car segments (0.67 percent).

(The company’s data includes vehicles from model years 2008 through 2014.)

“Compact cars continued to hold their value for a second consecutive week; an encouraging sign after multiple years of sharp drops in retention values for this segment,” Anil Goyal, Black Book’s senior vice president of automotive valuation and analytics, said in the report.

Consider this: in January 2013, 2-year-old compact cars were retaining 63 percent of their MSRP. 

Two-year-old compacts have seen their retention fall each year since, and this January, the retention rate is at 55 percent, Black Book said.

Which makes the wholesale price strength this month all the more impressive.

Turning to the truck side of the market last week, overall depreciation was at 0.51 percent. The prior four weeks, it was at 0.43 percent.

The heaviest decline for trucks was in the compact van segment (1.94 percent). The smallest decline was in the full-size luxury crossover/SUV (0.03 percent)