diff --git a/src/core/merge/merge-field-service.ts b/src/core/merge/merge-field-service.ts
index 445681f7..1734088f 100644
--- a/src/core/merge/merge-field-service.ts
+++ b/src/core/merge/merge-field-service.ts
@@ -91,8 +91,11 @@ export class MergeFieldService {
 	resolveToNumber(input: string): number | null {
 		if (!this.isMergeFieldTemplate(input)) return null;
 
-		const resolved = this.resolve(input);
-		const num = parseFloat(resolved);
+		// Whole-string match only: parseFloat takes a numeric prefix, so a
+		// resolved "03 image of a cat" would collapse to the number 3.
+		const resolved = this.resolve(input).trim();
+		if (resolved === "") return null;
+		const num = Number(resolved);
 		return Number.isFinite(num) ? num : null;
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/core/resolver.ts b/src/core/resolver.ts
index 1df2e621..90d7095c 100644
--- a/src/core/resolver.ts
+++ b/src/core/resolver.ts
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ function resolveMergeFieldsInClip(clip: InternalClip, mergeFields: MergeFieldSer
 			return num !== null ? num : mergeFields.resolve(value);
 		}
 		if (Array.isArray(value)) {
-			return value.map((item) => processValue(item, key));
+			return value.map(item => processValue(item, key));
 		}
 		if (value !== null && typeof value === "object") {
 			const result: Record<string, unknown> = {};
diff --git a/tests/merge-field-numeric-resolution.test.ts b/tests/merge-field-numeric-resolution.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..48c2366d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/merge-field-numeric-resolution.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+import { EventEmitter } from "../src/core/events/event-emitter";
+import { MergeFieldService } from "../src/core/merge/merge-field-service";
+
+import type { EditEventMap } from "../src/core/events/edit-events";
+
+function serviceWith(fields: Record<string, string>): MergeFieldService {
+	const service = new MergeFieldService(new EventEmitter<EditEventMap>());
+	Object.entries(fields).forEach(([name, defaultValue]) => service.register({ name, defaultValue }, { silent: true }));
+	return service;
+}
+
+describe("MergeFieldService.resolveToNumber", () => {
+	it("converts a template that resolves to a bare number", () => {
+		expect(serviceWith({ WIDTH: "1920" }).resolveToNumber("{{ WIDTH }}")).toBe(1920);
+		expect(serviceWith({ SCALE: " 2.5 " }).resolveToNumber("{{ SCALE }}")).toBe(2.5);
+	});
+
+	it("returns null when the resolved text merely starts with digits", () => {
+		const service = serviceWith({ SUBJECT: "a red apple" });
+
+		expect(service.resolveToNumber("03 image pending, merge field {{ SUBJECT }}")).toBeNull();
+		expect(service.resolveToNumber("{{ SUBJECT }} 42")).toBeNull();
+	});
+
+	it("returns null for text that resolves to an empty string", () => {
+		expect(serviceWith({ EMPTY: "" }).resolveToNumber("{{ EMPTY }}")).toBeNull();
+	});
+
+	it("returns null for a non-template input", () => {
+		expect(serviceWith({ WIDTH: "1920" }).resolveToNumber("1920")).toBeNull();
+	});
+});