Average fleet and lease van values fell by £27 in October to £4,198 – a fall of just half of 1%, following increases of 4.4% in September and 5.2% in August.

Despite the fall, prices remain very firmly the right side of the £4K barrier for the third consecutive month. CAP performance fell by nearly 3½ points to 101%, more a reflection of the greater volumes in the market than any significant fall in demand, say BCA.

Overall, average van prices fell marginally in October, with values down by just £4 to £3,858 compared to September’s high point of £3,862.

Although it is the first reverse recorded since June, values remain on a par with the peak of £3,868 recorded in January 2008 and year-on-year are ahead by £755 – an even greater margin than was recorded last month.

Performance against CAP did fall however by 3.3 points, which suggests demand is a little down on September and also reflects the greater volume of fleet and lease vans reaching the wholesale market in the final quarter of the year.

BCA’s Duncan Ward said: “We suggested in our last report that September may well have been the peak of the market for 2009 and that looks even more likely one month on. Supplies have increased from corporate sources and this has been reflected in price and CAP performance across the market.

“It is important to remember however that the current price levels are significantly ahead of those recorded across the bulk of last year and the market has – all things considered - made a spectacular recovery during 2009. We would expect values to settle a little between now and Christmas as it is unrealistic to expect them to keep on rising if volumes entered for sale are doing likewise.”