Commodities Daily - December 18, 2018

> Oil slides as equities tumble and amid EIA's robust outlook for US production. This morning's speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping speech did not inspire markets; rather it generated more uncertainty. Investor attention will soon shift to the two-day FOMC meeting that starts today. Oil prices will likely continue to be driven by the FX and stock markets this week, although they may come under the sway of data when the US inventory updates are released.> Gold in range of $1,246-1,248/oz as Fed starts meeting today. Yesterday, gold prices rose $10/oz from an intraday low of $1,236/oz to $1,248/oz following a tweet by US President Trump about Fed policy. The rally coincided with dollar weakening, with EUR/USD climbing from 1.130 to 1.136.> Base metals weaken after Xi's speech this morning. This morning, prices have fallen as Chinese leader Xi failed to add anything new on the trade war or on managing a slowdown in Chinese economic growth. Copper is holding a little above $6,103/tonne (-0.34% from the opening) and aluminum is down to $1,936/tonne (-0.28%), while zinc has managed to make a slight gain (+0.61%) to $2,554/tonne. LME prices may remain under pressure today.