Commodities Daily - December 19, 2018

> Oil slides on risk-off trading; EIA inventory update and FOMC meeting eyed. Today, we expect a slight draw in crude stocks of around 1 mln bbl combined with a slight decline in total refined product inventories. Such an outcome would have a bullish impact on Brent, which we expect to make a push toward the $58/bbl mark later in the day. Support for oil prices - and for staggering stock markets - are likely to be supported overnight if the Fed's outlook for next year takes a dovish turn.> Gold holds strong even as base metals sell off. Yesterday, gold traded in a range of $1,245-1,251/oz ahead of the Fed meeting. The market remains bullish this morning, with gold at $1,250/oz as we write.> Base metals slip on political concerns despite strong fundamentals. The base metals space witnessed a selloff yesterday, with copper testing a 3m low and nickel and zinc also coming under pressure. This morning has seen a recovery thanks to dollar weakness. The 3m LME copper contract is up 0.75%, nickel up 0.05%, zinc up 0.42% and aluminum up 0.21%.