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Gold has traded between $1,154 and $1,162 so far today…as of 9:45 am Pacific, bullion is down $3 an ounce at $1,154…Silver is 15 cents lower at $15.97…Copper is up slightly at $2.49…Nickel has eased off to $4.52…Crude Oil is steady at 53.64 while the U.S. Dollar Index is up one-tenth of a point to 102.20…

Traders are awaiting multiple signals for Gold during the upcoming quarter, including the potential impact of big policy shifts in the United States after President-elect Donald Trump moves into the White House January 20th…while Trump’s general direction of tax cuts, deregulation and a heavy emphasis on energy are long-term positive for the economy, the broader equity markets in their current euphoric state could be over-estimating how swiftly Trump’s pro-growth policies actually kick-start an economy that has been restrained and tangled up by excessive taxation and a record amount of regulation for 8 years under Obama…it will take time to sort out the mess, and then of course there’s a large deficit and a massive debt to deal with…once those realities set in, Gold could quickly regain favor…the same traders who could not predict Trump’s victory have been running up the Dow and dumping Gold based on a lot of assumptions they now have about a Trump Presidency, so at least some of their current predictions are likely to be as wildly off-base as many of their pre-election predictions were…

In Today’s Morning Musings…

1. TSX Gold Index update after a nearly 16% move in just 4 sessions…

2. Why Tinka may start to tingle investors as the drill begins to turn in January…

3. Daniel’s Den…5 stocks that are shaping up nicely entering the New Year…

Plus more…click here to read the rest of today’s Morning Musings and all BMR exclusive content, through a risk-free Pro, Gold or Basic package, or login with your username and password…

Check back later this morning for today’s Morning Market Musings.

1. Gold is finishing 2016 on a mildly positive note after a sharp pullback since early November…bullion hit another 2-week high overnight, reaching $1,162, and appears headed to finish the year with a gain of about 9% to snap a 3-year losing skid…Gold equities performed much better…as of 7:00 am Pacific, Gold is up slightly at $1,160 while Silver has added 7 cents to $16.20…Palladium has been the best-performing precious metal this year, up 19% entering the final trading session of 2016…

2. Gold buying in India, where Prime Minister Modi’s government has been conducting a war on cash, remains subdued…dealers were offering a discount of up to several dollars an ounce this week over official domestic prices that include a 10% import tax…there are rumors that the import tax will be reduced to 6% when the government introduces its 2017 budget February 1… 

3. Crude Oil prices are on track for their biggest annual percentage gain since 2009 on the back of an agreement struck between OPEC and non-OPEC countries to cut production starting in January…WTI futures have climbed around 43% this year while Brent futures have risen about 50%…the 2016 gains in the Oil market are the best since the 2009 rally when Brent and WTI rose 78% and 71%, respectively…WTI is off slightly around $53.50 as of 7:00 am Pacific…

4. The Venture is above its 50-day moving average (SMA) for the first time since late September…meanwhile, the average December gain for the Venture over the past 15 years has been 4.1%, and as of 7:00 am Pacific the Index is up 3.8% for the month at 765…the key resistance band is 770 to 784…the broader markets are mixed in early trading with the TSX up 3 points and the Dow down by 23 points…

5. Gatekeeper Systems (GSI, TSX-V), a leading provider of high resolution video security and safety systems for mobile applications, posted record quarterly revenue of $4.1 million to close out its 2016 fiscal year that ended August 31 as reported by the company yesterday…for the full year, GSI’s revenues increased 67% to $9.9 million while net income was almost $700,000 vs. a net loss of $921,000 during fiscal 2015…GSI is unchanged at 30 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…

6. FLYHT Aerospace Solutions (FLY, TSX-V) carries a very positive chart into 2017, with the stock just half a penny off its highest price (24.5 cents) in nearly 18 months…FLY provides real-time aircraft intelligence and cockpit communications for the aerospace industry, and the company has been making major inroads into China recently…

7. Colorado Resources (CXO, TSX-V) is armed with nearly $4 million in cash as the company prepares to launch a 1–2 punch with drilling early in the New Year at its recently acquired Green Springs Gold Property in Nevada followed by another major exploration program at its flagship KSP Project in the Heart of Gold Camp…yesterday, CXO closed a $950,000 flow-through financing with strong individual supporters…the stock is showing bullish new momentum and is unchanged at 28.5 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…

Gold has traded between $1,144 and $1,160 so far today…as of 10:15 am Pacific, bullion is up $14 an ounce at $1,156…Silver is 14 cents higher at $16.12…Copper is off slightly at $2.48…Nickel is up a penny at $4.58…Crude Oil is down 22 cents at $53.84 while the U.S. Dollar Index has fallen half a point to 102.76…

Year-end “window dressing”, limited short-covering and some weakness in the greenback have given Gold some fresh strength today…the TSX Gold Index seems to be anticipating further near-term gains in the metal as producers are strong again today with the Index up another 11 points to 201…that’s a jump of 14% over just 3 sessions…for the year, the Gold Index is up a whopping 56%, about 7 x the percentage advance in bullion which demonstrates how ridiculously cheap stocks had become at the end of last year…

The man in line to bring together President-elect Donald Trump’s federal budget is a big believer in Gold, according to information gathered by Bloomberg…Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Budget and Management, owns significant amounts of precious metals and Gold and Silver stocks based on financial disclosures…according to the filings, Mulvaney held $50,000 to $100,000 in precious metals at the end of 2015…in addition, the South Carolina congressman holds shares in numerous Gold and Silver stocks valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars (U.S.)…Mulvaney’s investments into Gold and Silver are not surprising given some of his past criticism of the Federal Reserve…he also also praised bitcoin, saying the cryptocurrency could not be “manipulated” by the government…

In Today’s Morning Musings…

1. Venture gathers steam – if it overcomes this obstacle shortly, watch out!…

2. The Venture stock that surged 350% in just 1 hour this morning…

3. Probe Metals ‘ (PRB, TSX-V) important new Gold discovery at Val d’Or East should attract more attention in January…

4. Updates on CXO, LIC and CEM…

Plus more…click here to read the rest of today’s Morning Musings and all BMR exclusive content, through a risk-free Pro, Gold or Basic package, or login with your username and password…

Check back later this morning for today’s Morning Musings.

1. Gold prices rose to their highest levels in 2 weeks today, touching $1,151, on year-end “window dressing” and a minor pullback in the U.S. Dollar Index…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is up $3 an ounce at $1,145…in China, the world’s biggest physical bullion exchange said yesterday that it will curb the amount of Gold investors can trade at one time, a move analysts said would limit institutional investors’ influence on prices…

2. Despite Gold’s sell-off since the November 8 U.S. elections, the metal is still 8% higher than it was at the start of the year and is about to post its first annual increase after 3 years of declines…

3. Crude Oil prices are holding steady around $54 a barrel with inventory data due today from the U.S. Department of Energy…yesterday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a surprising 4.2 million barrel increase in U.S. Crude stocks in the week to December 23, so traders will be watching if that figure is confirmed by the government’s update…meanwhile, it was revealed today that a committee of OPEC and non-OPEC producers will meet in Vienna January 21-22 to discuss compliance with the recent production agreement…Crude will be positively impacted by the OPEC and non-OPEC cuts should the agreed reductions be largely adhered to over the next 6 months…

4. The Venture has pushed slightly above its 50-day moving average for the first time since falling below that SMA in late September…the Index posted one of its biggest gains of the year yesterday, climbing 18 points, and is up another 4 points to 750 as of 7:00 am Pacific…that’s a 5.5% jump from the December 20 intra-day low of 711…the broader markets are also positive in early trading with the TSX up 56 points and the Dow ahead by 13 points…

5. Money keeps pouring into the marijuana sector…CanniMed Therapeutics (CMED, TSX) has successfully completed its IPO, issuing 5 million common shares at a price of $12 per share for total gross proceeds of $60 million…CMED begin trading this morning on the TSX…the stock opened at $13.11 but has fallen back to $10.80 as of 7:00 am Pacific…the Canadian-based company company has 15 years of pharmaceutical cannabis cultivation experience, a state-of-the-art GMP-compliant plant production process, and world-class research and development platforms with a wide range of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products…

6. Lico Energy Metals (LIC, TSX-V) got halted by “error” pre-market this morning, which is unusual, and the stock resumed trading at 7:00 am Pacific at 13.5 cents…the company is focused on the Cobalt and Lithium sectors, and an initial work program started earlier this month at Lico’s recently optioned Teledyne Property near Cobalt, Ontario…Teledyne adjoins the south and west boundaries of claims that hosted the past producing Agaunico mine…from 1905 through to 1961, Agaunico produced a total of 4.35 million pounds of Cobalt and 980,000 ounces of Silver…a significant portion of the Cobalt that was produced at Agaunico mine was located along structures that extended southward onto LIC’s Teledyne…

7. Callinex Mines (CNX, TSX-V) has completed another drill hole at its Pine Bay VMS Project near Flin Flon with assay results expected by about mid-January…that hole tested the adjacent Pine Bay VMS horizon located northwest of the Cabin zone that hosts the new discovery…2 holes have been partially completed to test the downdip extension of the new discovery and drilling will resume after the holidays…meanwhile, the company has raised an additional $2.4 million from the exercise of warrants to boost its cash position to $10 million…CNX is off a penny at 50 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…

Gold has traded between $1,136 and $1,145 so far today…as of 9:15 am Pacific, bullion is up slightly at $1,139…Silver is 3 cents higher at $15.98…Copper is up 2 pennies at $2.50…Nickel has declined a dime to $4.59…Crude Oil is 29 cents higher at $54.19 while the U.S. Dollar Index has surged half a point to 103.48…

The greenback enters 2017 on a bullish trajectory with the Fed predicting 3 more interest rate hikes…next Dollar Index resistance is 104…yesterday, the Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index climbed to 113.7 in December – its highest level in more than 15 years…it jumped from 109.4 in November as Americans see more strength ahead in business conditions, stock prices and the job market following the election of Donald Trump in November…

Pre-holiday trading couldn’t improve the negative sentiment in the Gold market as hedge funds continued to liquidate their bullish positions and add new short bets (contrarians, though, will look at that as an encouraging sign)…for the 6th consecutive week money managers reduced their net bullish exposure in Gold and, according to some analysts, this trend may have further to go ahead of the New Year…Gold’s net length declined almost 22% from the previous week…

Canada’s Growth Capped At 2%?

This comes as no surprise given current government policy choices provincially and federally across Canada (Saskatchewan and B.C. remain outliers) – a new report says the country’s economic growth is set to flatline at 2% or less per year over the next decade and a half, leading Canada to lose ground in the ranking of the world’s largest economies…the forecasts, compiled by the U.K.-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), predict Canadian GDP growth of 1.8% from 2016 to 2020, followed by a decade of 2% growth from 2021 to 2030…Canada will be weighed down by its public sector deficit, which has increased this year, and its gross debt as a percentage of GDP, which stands at 92%…low interest rates and a currency devalued against the U.S. dollar will work in Canada’s favor…CEBR’s World Economic League Table for 2017 estimates Canada is currently the 10th largest economy in the world, but that it will fall back 2 spots to #12 by 2030…

New Optimism For B.C. LNG Project

Bloomberg reported this morning that Malaysia’s Petronas is seeking to move ahead with a proposed $27 billion (U.S.) liquefied Natural gas plant in B.C. after identifying a new site for shipping the fuel, a shift that may help reduce costs and quell local opposition…the new design would eliminate the need for a costly suspension bridge that was part of the original plan and would also circumvent an environmentally sensitive marine area that’s been a flash point of controversy…Petronas and its partners are expected to decide whether or not to proceed with the project by early next year…the facility would produce as much as 19.2 million metric tonnes a year of LNG and open up a new trade route for Canadian gas to be shipped to Asia…the project won Canadian government approval in September after more than 3 years of regulatory review…during that time, the global LNG market tanked with spot prices for the fuel falling by more than two-thirds amid a supply glut…

Oil Update

Starting January, most members of OPEC and 11 other non-cartel producers are expected to scale back their production as part of recent agreements…the reduction goal of roughly 1.8 million barrels a day is expected to be carried out in phases and the market will be watching closely…

At this point, most industry observers are optimistic that participating nations will comply with the production quotas, at least in the first few months…the key will be if the compliance holds up after a period of higher prices, especially if Oil were to top $60 a barrel as our charts suggest it will…

Meanwhile, the number of U.S. rigs drilling for Oil climbed by 13 to 523 in the week ended December 23, marking the 8th straight week of growth and the most since December 2015….however, the U.S. is not expected to be able to significantly ramp up supply until 2018…production averaged 8.79 million barrels a day in the week ended December 16, up from 8.43 million bpd in late July…the Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects U.S. production to reach 9 million bpd by this time next year…

In Today’s Morning Musings…

1. CRB Index – Q1 breakout?…

2. Colorado Resources (CXO, TSX-V) Update – new dynamics with KSP-Green Springs combo…

3. Emerging Uranium play…

4. Daniel’s Den…a different look into an undervalued Oil play for patient investors…

Plus more…click here to read the rest of today’s Morning Musings and all BMR exclusive content, through a risk-free Pro, Gold or Basic package, or login with your username and password…

Check back later this morning for today’s Morning Musings.

1. Gold prices have stayed within a $10 range today in relatively light post-Christmas/pre-New Year’s trading…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is flat at $1,138…next significant support below $1,130 is in the $1,090’s…the TSX Gold Index has climbed 5 points to 186 in early trading…

2. U.S. stocks recovered from one of their worst-ever starts to the year to finish at record highs, though the Dow is still trying to cross the magic 20,000 level with just 3 trading sessions left (including today) in 2016…as of 7:00 am Pacific, the Dow is down slightly at 19,921 after posting its 27th winning session out of 35 yesterday…Canadian markets have re-opened following the Christmas break…the TSX has climbed 52 points through the first 30 minutes while the Venture is 7 points higher at 735, just 2 points below its November close…

3. Crude Oil, enjoying its best December in 6 years, is holding near its 2016 high with a gain of 24 cents to $54.12 as of 7:00 am Pacific while the HOU (WTI double bull ETF) has crossed the $9 level on the TSX…Africa Oil (AOI, TSX), continues its surge, up another 11 cents to $2.65 in early trading…we’ll have an updated AOI chart in today’s Morning Musings…

4. Uranium stocks, which came out of their slumber in November, appear poised to continue to be a focus of interest to begin 2017…Energy Fuels (EFR, TSX), which slipped as low as $1.74 last month, climbed as high as $2.35 in early trading today after announcing that it has intercepted additional high-grade areas of Uranium mineralization at its Canyon mine, a fully permitted conventional underground mine being developed in northern Arizona…the new intercepts, including 28.5 feet of mineralization with an average grade of 2.41% eU3O8, further expand the mineralized zone at the mine which is the highest-grade Uranium project being developed in the U.S. today…meanwhile, Purepoint Uranium (PTU, TSX-V), which begins drilling shortly at its Hook Lake JV, is up half a penny at 13.5 cents…PTU neighbor NexGen Energy (NXE, TSX) is off slightly at $2.24…

5. Rise Resources (UPP, CSE), which began trading on the CSE in February through an IPO, reported this morning that it has closed a non-brokered financing at 20 cents per share for total gross proceeds (hard dollars) of $4.2 million while also announcing a new financing at 20 cents to raise an additional $1.5 million…Rise is in the process of completing the purchase of a substantial area of private land in the U.S. which hosts a significant historic Gold mine, and that purchase is expected to be finalized by the end of January…the project was a leading Gold producer in the U.S. and was in the process of a major production expansion before being suddenly shut down during the Second World War…Rise believes it can prepare a mineral resource estimate, exploration plan and a preliminary mine plan through processing historic data on the property within 2 months of the closing of the purchase…

6. Canadian Zeolite (CNZ, TSX-V) is down slightly in early trading at $1.14 but appears to have stabilized above the $1 level…this morning, the company issued news that reviewed its 2016 achievements while outlining corporate plans for 2017 including the pursuit of expansion opportunities in the U.S. and South America to meet the growing demand of Zeolite…we’ll have an updated CNZ chart in today’s Morning Musings…

7. Rob McEwen is the mining world’s top commander-in-chief for 2016, according to an extensive survey of its readers and viewers by Kitco News…”Currently, McEwen is the chief executive and chairman of his own company, McEwen Mining (TSE: MUX). A believer that management should be as personally invested in a company as its shareholders, he owns 25% of the outstanding shares of McEwen Mining; he receives no salary. This year, McEwen hit a major milestone by getting the stock (TSE: MUX) above $1 at the start of 2016. The company is now preparing to end the year with positive free cash flow, no debt and over $70 million in the treasury. As for a personal milestone, this January McEwen will be inducted into the Mining Hall of Fame. Past great feats include his appointment to the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor.  McEwen has donated in excess of $60 million, some of which went to the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the Toronto General Hospital and the Schulich School of Business, Toronto”…

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:8-11)

The birth of Jesus is why we celebrate Christmas – He is the reason for the season.

Some two thousand years ago a baby was born.  This baby was born to a virgin and entrusted to the care of a carpenter.  He was not given to a King, not protected by an army.  There were no servants.  He was not born with a silver spoon in His mouth.  No, He was born to commoners in a stable and placed in a manger.

A manger is something that is used to hold food and water for animals, so it’s significant that this is where a divine baby was born.  From the beginning, Jesus was and still is God with the people.  He came to earth in humble beginings, lived a humble life, and died on a cross for the sins of the world.

In similar style, the first people to be informed of the birth of baby Jesus were the shepherds.  In those days shepherds were one of the lowest of society.  They were out in the fields living with the animals, not living in castles.  The angel of the Lord gives them the Good News for the world.  The angel tells them that a savior has been born to them, not only for them but for the whole world.  The angel does not say He was born for some of the people.  Jesus was born for ALL the people, ALL races, ALL ethnicities, ALL genders, ALL classses.  He is for ALL.

Christmas is a celebration of  “Jesus the Lord” coming to earth.  He came for you and for me.  In this season it is our corporate prayer that all of our BMR readers and subscribers, and people throughout the world, will experience the true meaning of Christmas.  We pray that during this season, you will feel the Hope of Christ, the Love of Christ, the Joy of Christ, and the Peace of Christ.

Over Christmas, may you have time to rest, relax, help others, and reflect on the reason for the season.  From our homes to yours, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

The BMR Team

BullMarketRun.com

Merry Christmas! 7 @ 7:00 and BMR Morning Market Musings return next Wednesday, December 28.

1. Gold has traded in a tight range between $1,129 and $1,134 so far today as trade volumes thin out immediately ahead of Christmas…given that Gold is in danger of posting its 7th straight weekly loss, bullion investors may think they’re getting a lump of Coal for Christmas after such a promising start to 2016 when the metal enjoyed its biggest quarterly advance in 30 years in Q1…2017 could bring the opposite – a weak start but a strong finish…Gold has been holding critical support around $1,130 and potentially could bounce out of short-term oversold conditions going into year-end…next major support after $1,130 is in the $1,090’s…

2. An interesting twist in India – rumors are circulating that the government will actually reduce tariffs on Gold early in the New Year, despite recent indications to the contrary…according to media reports, quoting unnamed government sources, the Indian government is allegedly looking to cut Gold’s import tax to 6% from its current 10%…the announcement is expected to be made February 1 when the government releases its budget for the 2017/2018 fiscal year…such a move would be a boost to the country’s domestic Gold market…

3. Venture tax-losing selling season is over and the Index is up 6 points at 726 through the first 30 minutes of trading today…expect a strong finish to what has been the Venture’s best year since 2010…

4. For the second straight day, a Venture junior is being gobbled up by a bigger fish…Kiska Metals (KSK, TSX-V) is the Venture’s top gainer in early trading, up 75% to 7 cents on total volume (all exchanges) of more than 1.5 million on a mostly all-share friendly takeover announced last night by AuRico Metals (AMI, TSX)…Kiska’s flagship asset is its Kliyul Cu-Au Project approximately 50 km south of AuRico’s Kemess Project in north central B.C.’s prolific Quesnel Trough…news is expected soon from an important property contiguous to the Kliyul, Garibaldi Resources‘ (GGI, TSX-V) Red Lion Project…

5. Keep an eye on Uranium stocks…Anfield Resources (ARY, TSX-V) is up 2.5 cents at 11 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific, Purepoint Uranium (PTU, TSX-V) has added half a penny to 13 cents while NexGen Energy (NXE, TSX) is unchanged at $2.32…U.S. funds are showing increased interest in Uranium which is poised for a resurgence (particularly under the incoming Trump administration) amid declining supplies…NXE, developing its world class Arrow deposit, plans to list on the NYSE next year…

6. Natan Resources (NRL, TSX-V) has completed its previously announced private placement for total gross proceeds of $4-million as the company prepares for a major 2017 exploration program at its recently acquired high-grade Montalembert Gold Project in northern Quebec…

7. Rob McEwen is the mining world’s top commander-in-chief for 2016, according to an extensive survey of its readers and viewers by Kitco News…”Currently, McEwen is the chief executive and chairman of his own company, McEwen Mining (TSE: MUX). A believer that management should be as personally invested in a company as its shareholders, he owns 25% of the outstanding shares of McEwen Mining; he receives no salary. This year, McEwen hit a major milestone by getting the stock (TSE: MUX) above $1 at the start of 2016. The company is now preparing to end the year with positive free cash flow, no debt and over $70 million in the treasury. As for a personal milestone, this January McEwen will be inducted into the Mining Hall of Fame. Past great feats include his appointment to the Order of Canada, the country’s highest civilian honor.  McEwen has donated in excess of $60 million, some of which went to the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the Toronto General Hospital and the Schulich School of Business, Toronto”…

BMR Christmas Posting Schedule…

7 @ 7 and BMR Morning Musings return next Wednesday, December 28, when Canadian markets re-open…

Christmas message tomorrow…

Check for separate postings prior to next Wednesday depending on market developments…comments section remains open throughout the Christmas holiday period…