I. Precious Metals
Gold
Gold fell from one-month highs on Wednesday after better-than-expected U.S. jobs data boosted U.S. bond yields and the dollar but losses were limited after minutes from the Federal Reserve's March policy meeting were released. Earlier in the session, the ADP National Employment Report showed that U.S. private employers added 263,000 jobs in March, beating economists' forecasts of 187,000 additions. U.S. 30-year Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar hit session highs immediately after the Fed minutes were released but gave up most gains later in the session. Bullion pared some losses after the Fed's minutes showed most policymakers think the central bank should take steps to begin trimming its $4.5 trillion balance sheet later this year as long as the economic data holds up.
On technical front, gold lingered around $1,250 throughout the day. After hitting $1,261.15 on Tuesday, the highest since February 27, bullion failed to the 200-day moving average of $1,258, the third time in less than 6 weeks. Investors shall be cautious.

Silver
Silver tracked gold on Wednesday, bottoming up to close little changed at $18.31. Technically, the MACD momentum column continued to contract, a bearish tone for gold. The chart pattern showed that investors diverged on silver’s future movement. Investors shall remain cautious. The resistance and support can be found at $18.45 and $18 respectively.

II. Commodities
Crude Oil
Oil prices settled a shade firmer on Wednesday, easing from one-month highs, as support from an outage at the largest UK North Sea oilfield was offset by a surprise increase in U.S. crude inventories to a record high limited price gains. News of the unplanned outage of the 180,000-barrels-per-day Buzzard field in the North Sea had already began to support prices on Tuesday. Prices, however, turned lower briefly on Wednesday after the U.S. government reported a rise in crude inventories of 1.6 million barrels last week. Analysts had expected a decrease of 435,000 barrels, and the build reported by the Energy Information Administration came as a double surprise after trade group the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a 1.8 million-barrel draw late on Tuesday. Brent futures ended the session up 19 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $54.36 a barrel after earlier touching $55.09, last traded on March 8. U.S. crude settled 12 cents, or 0.2 percent, higher at $51.15.
On technical front, yesterday’s selling might have triggered quite a number of stop-loss orders. Currently at the key 38.2 percent retracement level, prices have not breached above the key 100-day moving average. Investors shall closely watch the correction with support at around $50.87.

Copper
Copper rose 2 percent on Wednesday, reflecting strength across base metals following upbeat jobs data from the United States and the return of Chinese buyers after a two-day break. A jump in oil prices to their highest in a month also boosted a broader appetite for commodities, analysts said. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange closed up 2 percent at $5,895 a tonne. A move back through resistance at the 100-day moving average at $5,790 improved its technical picture, traders said.

Soybean
U.S. soybeans rebounded on Wednesday from multi-month lows sparked a day earlier by fears of harvest delays in Argentina, while China's return to the market after a holiday helped boost prices, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade May soybean futures settled up 6-1/2 cents at $9.44-1/4 per bushel. But gains were limited as U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated last week U.S. farmers will increase soybean plantings to 89.5 million acres, and production in Brazil was revised up.

Dealing Room, ICBC Beijing Branch
Huang Han