Basis Points Applications in the U.S. for unemployment insurance fell slightly in the first week of 2023, reflecting a still-tight labor market. Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 205,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. Claims had trended higher since touching near record lows early in 2022, but continue to hover near prepandemic levels. The U.S. government ran an $85 billion deficit in December, a wider shortfall than in the same month a year earlier, as the government's debt burden nears its legal limit . Compared with December 2021, the government brought in $32 billion less in revenue last month, for a total of $455 billion, and spent $32 billion more, for a total of $540 billion, according to the Treasury Department. Mortgage rates in the U.S. took a dip this week, as the economy showed signs of cooling. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.33% as of Jan. 12, down 15 basis points from the previous week, according to data released by Freddie Mac. (MarketWatch) Inflation in India declined in December for a third month in a row to its lowest level in a year, a sign of abating price pressures at year-end as food and energy prices moderated. The country's consumer price index rose 5.7% on year compared with a 5.9% increase in November, the lowest annual rate since December 2021, according to preliminary government data. (Dow Jones Newswires) South Korea's central bank raised the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.50%, as expected, and left the door open for further tightening. The Bank of Korea raised the seven-day repurchase rate for a seventh straight time to fight inflation, which has recently eased but still remained high. (DJN) China's trade surplus hit a record high in 2022, boosted by strong exports that powered the country's economy for most of the year until the final quarter. China's exports rose 7% to a new high of $3.59 trillion, beating the 2021 record of $3.36 trillion, according to data released by the General Administration of Custom. Imports increased 1.1% in 2022. That translated to an annual trade surplus of $877.6 billion. (DJN) Eurozone industrial output rebounded more than expected in November, providing further evidence of a milder-than-expected slowdown in the region amid declining energy prices. Industrial production--which comprises output from manufacturing, mines and utilities--rose 1% on month in November after a revised 1.9% decline in October, according to data from the EU statistics agency Eurostat. (DJN) The eurozone's trade deficit in goods narrowed in November on month, data from the EU statistics agency Eurostat showed. Adjusted for seasonal swings, the trade deficit in goods was EUR15.2 billion ($16.5 billion) in November compared with a EUR28.1 billion deficit in October. Eurozone exports rose 1% in November on month, while imports decreased by 3.8%, the data showed. (DJN) The German economy lost momentum in 2022 as the country faced multidecade high inflation, but growth remained resilient. The economy grew 1.9% in 2022 compared with a year earlier, according to preliminary data from Germany's statistics office Destatis. This was in line with expectations from economists polled by The Wall Street Journal and marks a slowdown from the 2.6% expansion in 2021. (DJN) The U.K. economy expanded marginally in November, boosted by the services sector despite high inflation and rising interest rates, but economists expect the country to face a recession at year-end. It grew 0.1% on month in November, slowing from a 0.5% expansion in October, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the economy to contract 0.2%. (DJN) WSJ Pro Special Report: The Year Ahead in Private Equity

As 2023 unfolds, private-equity firms enter what some predict will be one of the more challenging periods the industry has seen since the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet the challenges will create investment opportunities for firms with capital to deploy. Read our latest WSJ Pro Special Report here , unlocked for Central Banking subscribers.

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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

01-13-23 0715ET