I. Precious Metals
Gold

Gold firmed 0.1 percent to $1,298.11 per ounce on Friday as a rise in risk aversion ahead of G7 talks this weekend lent support, but the yellow metal remained hemmed within its narrowest weekly range since August 2007 as a recovery by the dollar capped gains.

Expectations that the Federal Reserve will announce another U.S. interest rate hike next week also pressured gold. Higher rates lift the opportunity cost of investing in non-yielding assets, such as bullion.

French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Donald Trump had a brief “very cordial” discussion about trade and North Korea, a French official said on Friday.

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier called on Friday for Europe to remain unified in the face of rising trade tensions with the United States, saying it was unclear how a summit of the Group of Seven rich nations would end.

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday warned both U.S. President Donald Trump and the European Union of the dangers of entering a tit-for-tat trade war over tariffs, urging both sides to instead focus on China’s excess steel production.

Leaders from the Group of Seven countries are highly unlikely to issue a final communique when a two-day summit in Canada ends on Saturday because of a lack of consensus among the group, who are deeply divided over trade issues.

Silver

Silver was on track for a 2.3 percent rise for the week, its biggest in seven weeks. On the daily chart, silver rose for the forth consecutive day, hitting $16.89 during the session after crossing over the peak of $16.83 touched on May 11.

On the weekly chart, silver moved away from the narrow range formed since May, but was still trapped within the long-term triangle range under the monthly resistance of $16.90. Investors shall closely watch the moves around the level.

II. Commodities
Crude Oil

Oil prices fell on Friday as concerns about surging U.S. output and falling demand in China weighed on the contract.

Brent crude futures settled down 86 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $76.46 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ended 21 cents lower at $65.74 a barrel. For the week, Brent fell 0.5 percent, while U.S. crude slipped 0.3 percent.

China's May crude oil imports eased away from a record high hit the previous month, customs data showed, with state-run refineries entering planned maintenance. May shipments were 39.05 million tonnes, or 9.2 million barrels per day (bpd). That compared with 9.6 million bpd in April.

Further weighing on prices has been rising U.S. output, which hit another record last week at 10.8 million bpd. U.S. drillers added one oil rig in the week to June 8, bringing the total count to 862, the highest level since March 2015.

Copper

Copper retreated after a six-day rally that pushed the metal to its strongest in 4-1/2 years in the previous session.

Three-month LME copper shed 0.3 percent to finish at $7,312 a tonne, off a session low of $7,211. Copper has risen 5 percent so far this week, the most since mid-February.

The benchmark spread between LME cash and three months raced to a backwardation of $12 a tonne on Friday, the steepest backwardation since June 2016 and compared to a contango of $38.50 in mid-May. This would usually indicate a shortage of copper for immediate delivery.

Helping to cap losses was data showing China imported 475,000 tonnes of unwrought copper and copper products last month, the largest since December 2016 and the highest May figure for at least a decade.

Soybean

U.S. soybean futures slid for a fifth straight session on Friday and registered the steepest weekly decline in 10 months as concerns over slowing export trade weighed on prices.

Chicago Board of Trade July soybeans fell 5 cents to $9.69-1/4 a bushel after hitting $9.62-1/2, the contract's lowest point since Aug. 21.

Rainy conditions across the heart of the Midwest farm belt pressured grain prices this week as recently planted corn and soybean crops are off to a strong start to the growing season. The U.S. Agriculture Department will release its monthly supply and demand report next Tuesday.

Dealing Room, ICBC Beijing Branch
                        Lv Yan