I. Precious Metals
Gold
Gold steadied above $1,270 on Monday. Concerns over the outlook for the U.S. election kept the metal pinned near current prices. The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced it was taking a new look at Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, reversing investors’ confidence as market has already priced in a Clinton win. Investors were more cautious ahead of the (Nov. 8) elections in the United States, and the non-farm payrolls on Friday, with gold sticking within a $10 range. The market was quiet ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. While hardly anyone expects Fed Chair Janet Yellen and other Fed policymakers to raise interest rates only a week before the election.
On chart, gold has regained ground after sharp losses in early October. The opening of Bollinger path narrowed down to pre-slump level and is unlikely to widen again. Bullion is more likely to consolidate in coming sessions. Investors will closely watch the 200-day moving average as it is expected to lift gold prices gradually to around $1,280. The yellow metal is expected to be kept under pressure, which will depend on market response after it converges with the 100-day moving average.

Silver
Silver tracked gold, up 0.6 percent at $17.83 an ounce. Technical indicators showed it under resistance of the 20-day moving average, suggesting further upside in near term. But the 100-day moving average at around $18.47 capped investors’ anticipation toward silver’s strength. In general, the white metal is expected to trade within the range of $17.5 to $18.5.

II. Commodities
Crude Oil
Oil prices dropped over 3 percent on doubts about OPEC's ability to implement its planned production cuts, with the market further weighed by expectations that the cartel had record output in October. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has achieved little when they met on Friday in Vienna, and then again on Saturday with their counterparts from non-member producers. They did not reach any specific terms, and sources said Iran has been reluctant to even freeze output. A Reuters survey found on Monday OPEC's oil output likely hit a record high in October, rising to 33.82 million barrels per day. Brent's front-month contract was down 2.8 percent at $48.30 a barrel. It hit a low of $47.98 during the day. The more active next-month Brent contracts were down 4 percent, at $48.65 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were trading down 3.8 percent, at $46.86 a barrel. The settlement for for Brent was the lowest since Sept. 30.

Copper
The benchmark copper contract on the London Metal Exchange hit the highest in three weeks on surprisingly upbeat demand from China. China's near-term copper outlook is looking brighter, said some analysts as house prices really rocketed and state grid investment was up as well. Still, new (housing) starts and some other leading construction indicators fell sharply in September and that suggests house prices may moderate going forward. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange touched $4,852.50 a tonne, its highest since Oct. 11, after closing up 1.1 percent on Friday. Three-month copper ended the day down 0.4 percent at $4,823.00. Shanghai Futures Exchange copper rose 0.68 percent or 260 yuan at 38,390 yuan a tonne.

Soybean
U.S. soybean future rose on Monday as strong export demand offset the downbeat news of record high U.S. production. The most active CBOT January soybeans closed at the support of the 100-day moving average, posting the biggest monthly gains since June. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said 264,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans were sold to China and that another 2.87 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans were inspected last week for export. CBOT November soybeans settled one cent higher at $10.02-1/4 per bushel. The December soymeal closed $1.4 down at $360.10 a tonne. December soyoil fell 0.24 cents at $35.17 cent. The trading volume of the CBOT soybean, soymeal and soyoil was expected at 174.961 lots, 107,432 lots and 85,942 lots respectively.

Dealing Room, ICBC Beijing Branch
Lv Yan

Note: The information herein is provided for informational purpose only. You are liable for the risk incurred to the investments based on this information provided herein.