Basis Points Manufacturing activity in New York contracted in January at the steepest pace since mid-2020 as rising interest rates weighed on demand for goods, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Its Empire State Manufacturing Survey's general business conditions index fell from minus 11.2 in December to minus 32.9, its lowest reading since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in spring 2020 and well below the minus 7 consensus forecast by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. (Dow Jones Newswires) Global trade flows fell for the fifth straight month in November and are unlikely to recover as the global economy slows this year, as an early trade indicator developed by The Wall Street Journal points to a 0.7% fall in flows from October, adjusted for the seasonal ups and downs of exports of goods between countries. (DJN) Canada's annual inflation rate cooled in December as slower growth in gasoline prices helped offset increases in mortgage interest costs and prices for clothing and personal care supplies and equipment. The country's consumer-price index rose 6.3% from a year earlier following an advance of 6.8% the month before, Statistics Canada said. On a month-over-month basis, prices fell 0.6% in December. On a seasonally adjusted basis, CPI was down 0.1% from the previous month. (DJN) Canadian housing starts fell in December for a third straight month, to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 248,625 units, a 5% decline from November's revised 263,022 units, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said. (DJN) Taiwan's economy shrank 0.86% in the final quarter of 2022, as weakening global economies weighed on overseas demand and hurt the manufacturing hub's export momentum. The decline, shown in official advance data released on Wednesday, marked the island's first quarterly downturn in years, and significantly weakened from a 4.01% rise in the previous quarter, when a reopening-triggered consumption jump supported economic improvement. (DJN) Malaysia's trade surplus narrowed on year in December, but exports and imports both printed new record highs, with full-year trade registering the fastest growth since 1994, official data showed. The country reported a trade surplus of 27.76 billion ringgit ($6.42 billion) for December, compared with MYR22.30 billion in November and MYR31.48 billion in the last month of 2021. (DJN) Registrations of passenger cars in the European Union rose in the last month of 2022, although the full year still showed a contraction in registrations due to component shortages in the first half of the year, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association said. (DJN) South Africa's inflation edged down in December for a second consecutive month, but continued to exceed the central bank's target range. The consumer price index rose 7.2% in December compared with a year earlier, down from the 7.4% increase recorded in November, according to data from Statistics South Africa. (DJN) WSJ Pro Special Report: The Year Ahead in Private Equity

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This newsletter is compiled by James Christie in San Francisco.

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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-18-23 0715ET