I. Precious Metals
Gold

Gold hovered near last week's six-month low on Monday as investors flocked to U.S. Treasuries rather than bullion, amid concerns over a global trade war ratcheting higher after a report said the United States plans to bar Chinese companies from investing in its technology firms.

Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,266.29 per ounce. U.S. gold futures for August delivery settled down $1.80, or 0.1 percent, at $1,268.90 per ounce. The U.S. Treasury Department is drafting curbs that would block firms with at least 25 percent Chinese ownership from buying U.S. companies with "industrially significant technology," Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Gold, which is traditionally seen as a safe haven in times of geopolitical uncertainty, has failed to benefit as investors poured into U.S. Treasury debt. The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened to its lowest level in over 10 years as concerns about trade wars and divisions within the euro zone boosted demand for longer-dated, safe-haven debt. On chart, some support are seen lining up at the $1,265 level, with upward momentum capped at the $1,278 area.

Silver

Silver fell 0.8 percent at $16.31 an ounce, erasing all the gains of the previous session. On chart, downside risk lingers in the near term as the 10-day moving average has breached below the 20-day moving average with the next support at $16.20.

II. Commodities
Crude Oil

Oil fell on Monday as investors prepared for an extra 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil to hit markets after OPEC agreed to raise production and as U.S. equity markets slipped on trade war fears. Brent crude futures fell 82 cents, or 1.1 percent, to settle at $74.73 a barrel. U.S. light crude settled at $68.08 a barrel, down 50 cents.

Losses in U.S. crude prices were limited by the likelihood that an outage at Syncrude Canada's 360,000 bpd oil sands facility would last through July. The outage is expected to limit crude arriving at Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery point of the U.S. futures contract. This helped further shrink U.S. crude's discount to global benchmark Brent to as small as $4.78. The spread was as wide as $11.57 on June 1, but had started contracting ahead of OPEC's expected supply increase.

Technically, U.S. crude pulled back to the 50-day moving average of $67.80. Investors shall closely watch movement around this level, and shall cut positions on highs if it is breached below.

Copper

Three month LME copper ended 0.5 percent lower at $6,755 a tonne after hitting the lowest since early May at $6,720 a tonne. Supporting copper was news on Friday that workers' unions at Codelco's small Salvador copper division in Chile had rejected an early wage deal from the company. Metals rallied during Asian trading after China’s central bank cut the amount of cash that some banks must hold as reserves.

Soybean

U.S. soybean futures fell to the lowest close for a front contract on a continuous chart since March 2016 on Monday. July soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade settled down 20 cents at $8.74-1/2 per bushel.

Funds continued to sell soybeans as simmering U.S.-China trade tensions and generally favorable Midwest crop weather pressured soybean trade. Radiant Solutions said on Monday that the rainfall crossed the southwest of the Midwest crop belt earlier this week is beneficial for crop growth, but the rainfall in the middle and north west of the Midwest is concerning.

July soymeal fell $6.2 to $332.9 a short tonne, while July soyoil rose 0.27 cents to 28.94 cents a pound.

Dealing Room, ICBC Beijing Branch
                        Huang Han