I. Precious Metals
Gold
Gold hit a 10-1/2-month low of $1,122.35 an ounce on Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar surged to a 14-year high, boosted by the prospect of more interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve next year. U.S. Treasury yields soared, lifting the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold. The latest move in short-term U.S. Treasury yields suggests that the price of gold has further to fall. Market morale continued to cool down. Holdings of the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares, are down about 10 percent from mid-November. Gold is likely to cross below the key mark of $1,100. But a rebound expected in the long run on rising inflation expectations. On technical front, the upturn movement is about to end with current prices of $1,130 at the level of downward path since 2013. In between, gold can find support at $1,160 only.

Silver
Silver was down 5.2 percent at $15.95 an ounce, after falling to hit its lowest since June 1 at $15.82. The white metal is expected to extend losses to around $15.5 after breaching a four-week consolidation. On chart, the opening of Bollinger path widened after shrinking for a week, adding to a dead cross formed by the MACD index to suggest a bearish tone.

II. Commodities
Crude Oil
Oil settled little changed on Thursday after sliding to its lowest level in a week in volatile trade, but a surging dollar did not pressure prices below technical support levels as OPEC members told customers they would cut crude supplies. Oil tumbled early as the dollar rallied near a 14-year high against a basket of other currencies the day after the Federal Reserve raised U.S. interest rates for the first time in a year and hinted rates in 2017 could rise more quickly than investors had anticipated. National oil companies in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi have told customers in Asia they would cut crude supplies following OPEC's decision to cut output. Saudi Arabia also told U.S. and European customers it would reduce oil deliveries, and traders said other OPEC members are expected to do the same. Still, in Libya, the restart of a pipeline leading to two key oil fields could add as much as 350,000 bpd of crude, challenging OPEC's efforts to reduce supplies and boost prices. Brent futures for February delivery gained 12 cents to settle at $54.02 per barrel, while U.S. crude lost 14 cents to settle at $50.90, its lowest close in a week. Technically, U.S. crude is about to breach $53, the key mark of the downward path since June 2014, opening up a path for accelerated growth.

Copper
Copper recovered from early losses triggered by a rising dollar and higher inventories. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange ended the session 0.2 percent up at $5,732 a tonne. Firm Chinese demand is expected to support copper prices going into 2017, though further gains could be difficult. The market is waiting to see how much more copper will be delivered to LME-approved warehouses, where stocks of the metal have jumped nearly 40 percent to 295,300 tonnes since Dec. 8.

Soybean
U.S. soybean futures rose on Thursday, boosted by strong export sales. The National Oilseed Processors Association on Thursday said the monthly soybean crush was worse than expected, pressuring the market and sending closing prices well below session highs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday reported that weekly soybean export sales for 2016/17 delivery rose to 2.0083 million tonnes, above trade forecasts for 1.1 million to 1.5 million tonnes. Soymeal futures firmed but with limited gains. Soyoil futures closed in the negative territory with limited losses as buying bets rushed in after the contract approached the trough in December. Chicago Board of Trade January soybean futures settled up 5-1/4 cents at $10.29 a bushel. CBOT January soymeal closed up $1.2 at $314 a tonne. December soyoil settled down 0.18 cents at $36.74 cents. The trading volume of the CBOT soybean, soymeal and soyoil was expected at 256,257 lots, 116,397 lots and 115,337 lots respectively.

Dealing Room, ICBC Beijing Branch
Lv Yan