I. Precious Metals
Gold
Gold prices rose to an 11-week high on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve gave no clear signal on the likelihood of a March interest rate increase in its latest statement, prompting another drop in the U.S. Dollar. Bullion struck its highest level since Nov. 17 at $1,225.30 an ounce. The U.S. currency slipped to the lowest since mid-November against a basket of currencies, but gold pared gains as the dollar turned positive later in the session. Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $1,216.10. Investors' interest in gold rose after the U.S. currency suffered its worst January in 30 years. U.S. non-farm payroll data for January will be closely watched on Friday. The report will be examined for signs that growth is strong enough to support further interest rate hikes.
On technical front, gold is expected to rise to $1,235 in near term after crossing through the key resistance of $1,220. The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares, reported its biggest one-day inflow in nearly four months on Wednesday, of 10.7 tonnes, showing investors’ increasing interests in gold.

Silver
Silver was down 0.3 percent at $17.46 an ounce. Technically, the white metal lingers around the highs of $17.4 with the support of the 100-day moving average despite of recent falls, showing no distinct divergence with gold. Still in the upside range, silver is expected to find resistance at the 200-day moving average of $17.90.

II. Commodities
Crude Oil
Oil prices edged lower on Thursday, giving back early gains as traders grew less concerned about tensions between the United States and Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday in a tweet that Iran had been "put on notice" after the country tested a ballistic missile. In morning trade, crude prices briefly climbed to their highest levels since early January due in part to the tough talk over the missile test since the possibility of a confrontation in the Gulf region could put world oil supplies at risk. Brent futures fell 24 cents to settle at $56.56 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 34 cents to settle at $53.54.
A survey found most key oil producers were sticking to the deal, with compliance above 80 percent. Russian oil output contracted in January by 100,000 bpd, Energy Ministry data showed. OPEC and non-OPEC producer Russia, however, are shielding Asian customers from those supply cuts and instead have reduced deliveries to Europe and the Americas. Higher crude prices in recent months have prompted U.S. energy producers to drill for more oil, curbing oil prices. U.S. crude inventories rose last week by 6.5 million barrels to 494.76 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, far exceeding forecasts for an increase of 3.3 million barrels.

Copper
Three-month copper ended down 1 percent at $5,886 a tonne, near a two-month high of $6,007 hit on Wednesday on buying triggered by supply concerns. Traders said that copper's failure to hold above $6,000 was behind the sell-off after New York opened, but they expect support to hold around $5,800, the 21-day moving average. Focus is on BHP Billiton's Chilean mine Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, where workers have voted to reject a company wage offer and strike. Supply disruptions will provide a floor to the metal.

Soybean
Chicago soybeans steadied on Thursday as upbeat export data was offset by market expectations for bump harvest in South America. Weak spot market also weighed on futures market. USDA said weekly old-crop export sales of soybeans totaled 632,900 tonnes, in line with market consensus. New-crop soybean export sales were 351,100 tonnes, better than market expectations. CBOT March soybeans ended up 1/2 cent at $10.37-1/4 a bushel. CBOT March soymeal was down $2.2 at $333.8 a tonne. CBOT March soyoil firmed 0.28 cents at 34.59 cents. Traded volumes of soybean, soymeal and soyoil were expected to stood at 193,460 lots, 92,241 lots, and 120,027 lots respectively.

Dealing Room, ICBC Beijing Branch
Lv Yan