MIDEAST: Trump Envoy-'Think We Can Get Qatar On Board w/Israel Normalisation'

November posted improved home sales figures compared with a soft October, but r. New home sales came in roughly as expected at 664k on a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate, up from 627k prior (upwardly revised from 610k), following on from data showing a 4.8% M/M increase in existing home sales in November to the highest level since March at 4.15M.

• The October figure looks to have been depressed by hurricane activity, particularly in the South (which saw sales rebounding 14%). However, overall there has been some softening versus broader trends in activity, with the 2-month average existing sales at an 11-month low.
• Median new sales prices are down 6.3% Y/Y to the lowest since February 2022 ($402.6k) with supplies remaining robust: there are 8.9 months of inventory available, close to the 9.2 months in October, some of the highest figures seen outside of crises//immediately post-pandemic, and well above the 3.8 months of existing homes.
• High mortgage rates are impacting both new and existing home sales activities, but there remains greater stagnation on the existing side as current homeowners are finding the opportunity cost of moving too high. Conversely, homebuilders continue to provide incentives for new home buyers to help offset the high prevailing interest rates.

Reuters reporting that Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov told reporters today that, "several countries had already offered to host talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, though he declined to say which."

• Come after Trump, speaking at a conservative political event in Arizona on Sunday, suggested he could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly after assuming office on January 20, repeating that resolving the war in Ukraine is “one of the things I want to do quickly.”
• Reuters notes that Putin said on Thursday, "that he was ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks with Trump and had no conditions for starting talks with the Ukrainian authorities... But Putin said any talks should take as their starting point a preliminary agreement reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in the early weeks of the war at talks in Istanbul, which was never implemented."
• The Washington Post reported today that Trump's re-election, and battlefield realities appear to be pushing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the negotiating table: "...after previously stating that negotiations could begin only once Moscow withdrew all its troops, Zelensky is now emphasizing the need for long-term security rather than the immediate return of territory."
• Some possible candidates for hosting Trump-Putin talks include Turkey, Hungary, and Switzerland.

ERM5 98.12/50 call spread 10K given at 7.75/7.5.