I was reading the 2021 10K for Starrett (SCX) when I came across the following, when referring to inventories:

The Core U.S. business had total Inventory, on a FIFO basis, of $27.8 million and $5.7 million on a LIFO basis as of June 30, 2021. [...] The use of LIFO, as compared to FIFO, resulted in a $2.4 million decrease in cost of sales for the goods sold in fiscal 2021

I have no formal training in finance, and I'm trying to teach myself as I go, so sorry if this is a silly question, but does this makes sense?

The way I see it, if the total inventory value is higher on a FIFO basis (27.8 vs 5.7), it means the newer inventory is more expensive than the old one. But in that case, using LIFO (which means you use your newer inventory first), COGS should be higher, as we already established that newer inventory was more expensive. How can both things be true at the same time?

Also, is it normal that the value of the inventory changes so much when using LIFO or FIFO? I understand that newer inventory can be more expensive, but isn't 5x too much?