Both in steady decline, the US ISM Purchasing Managers Index dropped below 50 and the Canadian-based Ivey Purchasing Managers Index took a significant tumble to 33.  The latest data speaks to the presumed fear of what 2023 has in store for the world’s economy.

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• Interest rate hikes were headline making in 2022 and more are expected in the early half of 2023 (Forbes.com)

• China’s manufacturing output is hard to predict in early 2023 as exposure and infection rates climb in the absence of the zero-COVID policy measures lifted in December 2022 (Rhodium Group)

• Global demand is changing; necessary and sometimes compelling purchasing pivots made in the wake of the COVID supply chain collapse may point to longer, more lasting changes (Wall Street Journal)

• Economic decoupling along US and Chinese lines is unnerving while the trajectory of the Russian invasion of Ukraine also places economic confidence on shaky ground

• Evolving policy changes make it very hard to peer into certain key markets, like December’s EU & G7 backed price cap on Russian oil (The Economist)

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And so, even while some other important and widely reported on indicators are looking up - like the easing rate of inflation in the second half of 2022 the complexity of the global economy and the troubles that loom in front of us create pressures that will surely factor into purchasing decisions made in 2023.