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Check back later today for Daniel’s Den and visit the BMR comments section throughout the day for updates and helpful information.

1. Gold has traded between $1,313 and $1,323 so far today as it prepares for its 4th straight weekly gain, the first time that has happened since April of last year…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is off $4 an ounce at $1,318…Silver is relatively flat at $17.16…Copper and Nickel have eased off slightly to $3.21 and $5.67, respectively, but Zinc has hit a new 10-year high of $1.54…Crude Oil, enjoying a strong start to the year, has retreated modestly to $61.57 while the U.S. Dollar Index has reversed higher to 92.04…the pace of hiring slowed in the U.S. last month (non-farm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 148,000 in December) but the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%, matching the lowest level since December 2000 for the 3rd straight month…hourly wage growth, from a year earlier, failed to accelerate…however, recent economic data all point to an American economy that has shifted into high gear in front of large corporate and individual tax cuts that could help turbocharge growth in 2018…that is very positive for the commodity sector…

2. Differences between the Canadian and U.S. governments’ approach to Oil could not be more stark…at a time when Canada is apologizing for its Oil riches, can’t get pipelines built and is imposing job and investment killing carbon taxes as part of a globalist mindset to “save the planet”, the Trump administration yesterday proposed opening up nearly all the country’s offshore areas for Oil and gas drilling in a move that would touch every coastal state, some that have been off limits to drillers for decades…under the plan announced by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, the government would offer for sale the largest number of Oil and gas leases in U.S. history starting late next year…it would open up 90% of offshore areas for drilling as part of a 5-year plan, reversing an Obama-era plan that would have kept only 6% of the same acres available for drilling…the move, which of course will face fierce opposition from some coastal-state lawmakers and environmental groups, is one of a number of steps the Trump administration is taking to bolster U.S. fossil fuel production…

3. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported yesterday that Crude inventories fell by 7.4 million barrels in the week ended December 29, widely exceeding analysts’ expectations on average for a drop of 4.7 million barrels…as the amount of Crude in storage has declined, geopolitical risks around the world have raised concerns about disruptions to supply from major Oil exporters…prices have risen 11 out of the past 14 sessions entering today…improving fundamentals “have placed the market on the firmest footing seen in several years,” said Michael Tran, director of energy strategy at RBC Capital Markets, in a Thursday note. “Recent production hiccups in the North Sea and Libya are examples of how outages will be magnified as the global storage surplus continues to taper.”

4. In a move that contributed to the sell-off in marijuana related stocks yesterday, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions ended an Obama-era policy that discouraged federal prosecutions of marijuana use and sales in states where it has been legalized…Sessions is instead leaving it up to U.S. attorneys to decide to what extent they will enforce federal anti-marijuana laws…the new action by Sessions comes on the heels of California becoming the 7th and largest state (plus the District of Columbia) to legalize recreational marijuana…almost 90 businesses received state licenses to begin legal marijuana sales in California at the start of 2018 and sales are booming…in addition, 29 states allow the sale and use of medical marijuana…in a report issued before Sessions’ announcement of a change in federal policy – the effect of which is not yet determined – BDS Analystics forecast that marijuana sales in California alone could total $3.7 billion this year and $5.1 billion in 2019…

5. U.S. equities, like the Venture, have started 2018 with a bang, hitting new all-time highs this morning…as of 7:00 am Pacific, the Dow is up another 60 points to 25,135…in Toronto, the TSX has slid 72 points while the Venture is off 2 points at 878…however, the Venture has confirmed a major breakout above 850 this week and appears headed for a stellar 1st quarter…Castle Silver Resources (CSR, TSX-V), at multi-year highs, is one of the most active stocks in early trading after an apparent cross of 2.5 million shares at 37 cents at the open…this is already the highest volume single session in the stock’s history…CSR, which has said it will soon be changing its name to more accurately reflect its Cobalt focus, has been gaining momentum on that news recently in addition to high-grade Cobalt results from 2 properties in the northern Ontario Cobalt Camp…with its past producing Castle mine, CSR is the only company in the region with critical underground access where material is being extracted to be converted into Cobalt sulphate for battery sector evaluation in Asian markets through the company’s proprietary Re-2OX process…Metallis Resources (MTS, TSX-V), ideally positioned for new discoveries at its Kirkham Property contiguous to Nickel Mountain in the Eskay Camp, has announced it has arranged a private placement of up to $2 million at $1.15…

6. Canopy Growth (WEED, TSX), down in early trading, has just issued news commenting on yesterday’s decision by the U.S. Attorney General regarding federal anti-marijuana laws:  “We want to make our position as clear as possible: While Canopy does not support continued cannabis prohibition, it is management’s view that confusion surrounding federal cannabis laws in the United States presents advantages for Canopy Growth, not risks, stated Bruce Linton, Canopy Growth Chairman and CEO.  “We want to assure our shareholders that they are not being exposed to undue risk.  We are confident in our position because we have exclusively focused on ethical, responsible and legal cannabis opportunities across the globe and not in the United States.  We want to assure our shareholders that they are not being exposed to undue risk.”  That’s an effective spin by Canopy but the reality is the genie is out of the bottle in the U.S. with regard to legalizing recreational marijuana at the state level across much of the nation, and the federal government has only limited resources and time to fight that trend…

7. A.I.S. Resources (AIS, TSX-V), continuing to hit new all-time highs, is launching a seismic survey, to be immediately followed by drilling, at its Chiron Lithium brine project in Salta, Argentina…the survey will define the subsurface horizons that are highly conductive and suggest the presence of aquifers down to a depth of approximately 400 m…once the survey confirms specific drill targets, AIS will carry out an 8-hole drill program totaling 3,200 m…this news comes just a few weeks after AIS announced that it has completed the mass balance chemistry and process engineering for the Lithium brines at the company’s Guayatayoc Project in Jujuy province, north of Salta…AIS is targeting an 8,000 to 10,000-tonne Lithium carbonate plant that could be scaled up and serve both Guayatoayoc and Chiron…

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