With November's figures coming in at 10.1 per cent, down on October's 41-year high, it might be a portent of better things to come, like a new star suddenly appearing in a bleak, midwinter sky.
But 10.1 per cent is still high, and even if we can shake our predictive snowglobes and see the unfurlings of a lower interest rate environment to come in 2023, financial services commentators are still anticipating a bumpy slide down next year.
Perhaps not as quickly as an expert navigating a black run, but certainly as scary as Delerium Drive, with its strange, ever-changing topography proving dangerous for the unwary and uninitiated.
I think that's enough shoehorning of seasonal imagery and carols into one opinion piece. There will definitely be many bumps, falls and frustrations along the way in 2023, which once again will prove the value of financial advice.
Even those who hope all will be calm, all will be bright over the next 12 months are a little cynical: it seems year after year we wave goodbye to a year that has been difficult, only to hurtle into the same old cycle - 'man at war with man'.
And every year, we urge people to seek professional financial advice.
Calm heads in the advice world prevailed at the height of the 2020 pandemic; they thrived in the uncertain world of 2021 as the shift to hybrid working brought opportunities for advisers to serve advice-seekers coming to their doors.
And those same steady hands on the tillers steered your clients through the geopolitical uncertainty of 2022, helping them not just to preserve their wealth but also to look at longer-term goals to grow it and pass it on through the generations.
Just so, your calm heads will be needed in 2023 - and not just for clients and potential clients, but also in the wider media.
It is hard not to get caught up in the emotion of breaking news, so we are always exceptionally grateful on FTAdviser for your wise comments, letters and offers of opinion pieces.
Over the coming months we are working on new ways to give you the ability to share your thoughts with your peers and others who read FTAdviser, and to ensure that we truly remain the 'voice of Financial Advisers'.
We cannot tell what 2023 will bring, but one thing is for sure: your critical thinking and experience will be invaluable.
Sages, leave your contemplations (unless it's about consumer duty and other regulatory requirements), and help your clients achieve those brighter visions that beam afar.
(I think that's enough shoehorning of seasonal imagery and carols into one opinion piece).
I leave you with my very warmest wishes for the holidays, as well as a short video of Nichta being forced to take part in Christmas merriment.
Her sister, Mera, took one look at the ordeal and scarpered for her life, her Christmas bow tie dangling from her tail as she sped into the silent night.
(Ok, I had a couple more holiday references left in reserve).
As Tiny Tim would say, "God bless us, every one!"
Simoney Kyriakou
