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Gold has traded between $1,281 and $1,296 so far today…as of 7:30 am Pacific, the yellow metal is up $13 an ounce at $1,293…Silver is up 30 cents to $20.06…Copper is a penny higher at $3.03…Crude Oil is off 71 cents at $99.03 while the U.S. Dollar Index is one-tenth of a point higher at 80.19…

Gold demand in China has risen slightly with local prices trading at a premium to London spot prices for the first time since early March…that’s a very good sign and could mean that bullion will hold important support near current levels ($1,270 and higher)…

News this week that India’s current-account deficit appears to be narrowing means a greater likelihood that authorities could reduce restrictions on Gold imports, according to Commerzbank…analysts cite data from the All India Gems & Jewellery Trade Federation showing that Gold imports in the fiscal year that just ended are unlikely to have exceeded 600 metric tons, well down from 845 tons a year earlier. “This is likely to have noticeably eased the country’s current account; according to the finance minister, its deficit could total $35 billion, which would equate to around 2% of GDP,” Commerzbank stated…previously, the deficit had been as high as $88.2 billion. “A loosening of the import restrictions thus appears more probable,” Commerzbank concluded…the bank cites reports saying that the finance ministry is discussing appropriate steps with the central bank…India’s general election will take place beginning April 7 and will be held in nine phases, the longest election in the country’s history, through May 12…results will be declared May 16, and could have an important impact on Gold as the year progresses…

Today’s Markets

Global stocks are at their best levels since the outbreak of the financial crisis, bolstered by record highs on Wall Street as the U.S. economy slowly improves but monetary policy remains accommodative…hopes that Beijing will ensure that a rebalancing Chinese economy avoids a hard landing, waning euro zone debt fears – Greek borrowing costs are at multi-year lows – and Japan’s battle against deflation, have also contributed to the rally…potential “market moving” events later this week are tomorrow’s European Central Bank meeting and Friday’s U.S. jobs reports…

Asia

Asian markets are at multi-week highs…China’s Shanghai Composite added 12 points overnight to close at 2049…Japanese investors cheered a weaker currency…the yen fell to 103.93 per dollar, its lowest level since January 23, and the Nikkei climbed 154 points to close at 14946…

Europe

European shares are slightly higher in late trading overseas…the European Union’s producer price index dropped 0.2% in February and was down 1.7% year-on-year…the year-on-year decline was the largest since late 2009 and is yet another element adding to the deflation concerns in the EU…the PPI report will put more pressure on the ECB to come up with new monetary tools to jump-start economic growth and inflation…the ECB’s monthly monetary policy meeting tomorrow will include a news conference from Mario Draghi…

North America

The Dow is 21 points higher as of 7:30 am Pacific…the U.S. economy created nearly 200,000 new private-sector jobs last month, a closely watched economic indicator reported this morning, feeding hopes about the economic recovery and a thaw in labor markets…the ADP National Employment report said total private payrolls jumped by 191,000 in March (vs. a consensus estimate of 195,000), but ADP sharply revised upward February’s figure to 178,000 from 139,000…small business created 72,000 total jobs in March, ADP said, while medium-sized firms generated 52,000…large businesses created 67,000 new positions during the month…

The TSX is up 44 points as of 7:30 am Pacific while the Venture is 4 points higher at 1005 as it tries to gain traction again above the 1000 level…

Pilot Gold Inc. (PLG, TSX) Update

Pilot Gold Inc. (PLG, TSX) has completed its previously announced bought-deal financing for total gross proceeds of $20 million…lead underwriters National Bank Financial Inc. and Scotiabank, along with Haywood Securities Inc., BMO Capital Markets, Canaccord Genuity Corp., CIBC World Markets Inc., Cormark Securities Inc. and Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd., purchased, on a bought-deal basis, 13,072,000 common shares of the company at a price of $1.53 per share…PLG, which is developing two cornerstone projects – Kinsley Mountain in Nevada and TV Tower in Turkey – is up 4 cents at $1.43 through the first hour of trading today…

Platinum Update

A 10-week wage strike in the world’s biggest platinum-mining industry is crippling business in the South African city of Rustenburg, a city of 500,000 people where mining-related activities account for about half the jobs…wage negotiations between more than 70,000 members of the striking Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) have restarted after ceasing through most of March…companies estimate that employees have lost about 4.9 billon rand ($464 million) in pay so far…Platinum mining, which started in the 1920s, boosted the Rustenburg economy to the point where the town became one of South Africa’s fastest-growing cities by 2000…

Interestingly, Platinum is actually cheaper today than it was on January 23 when the unions walked out…the strike, however, is costing about 10,000 ounces in lost output a day across the major Platinum producers and could push the global Platinum market into a 1 million ounce supply shortfall this year, according to analysts at Thomson Reuters GFMS.  “The reality is that the companies don’t have that much room to move, given their current cost base,” Carole Ferguson, a mining analyst with SP Angel Corporate Finance in London, told Mineweb (see article by Patrick Cairns this morning at www.mineweb.com). “But AMCU doesn‘t seem able to grasp that.”

Long-Term Platinum Chart

Below is a 20-year Platinum chart from John…note the strong RSI(14) support at 40%…the big question is whether Platinum will break above the downtrend line or below exceptionally strong support around $1,300…we favor the former scenario but exact timing of course is uncertain…

Madalena Energy Inc. (MVN, TSX-V) Chart Update

Madalena Energy (MVN, TSX-V) has been strengthening again recently after a healthy pullback from a high of 83 cents in mid-January…in February, MVN raised another $20 million…the company is very active with a large land base of over 150 net sections (100,000+ net acres) in the Paddle River area of west-central Alberta with increasing production and reserves on three horizontal plays…MVN also has very attractive assets in Argentina where it’s focused on the multi-billion barrel potential of three large blocks within the “sweet spot” of that country’s prolific Neuquen basin…below is an updated 2.5-year weekly chart from John…note how the EMA(20) has provided consistent support since last summer…MVN is off 2 pennies at 70 cents through the first hour of trading…

North American Nickel Inc. (NAN, TSX-V) Chart Update

North American Nickel (NAN, TSX-V) generated some excitement last summer with high-grade drill results from its Maniitsoq Project in Greenland, specifically the Imiak Hill Conduit Complex…when drilling resumes, expect this play to heat up again as NAN follows up on an important discovery…the company has developed a growing list of targets throughout the large Maniitsoq package which it believes has the potential to host the world’s next sulphide Nickel-Copper-Cobalt camp…NAN is up 1.5 cents at 37 cents as of 7:30 am Pacific…

Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. (ZEN, TSX-V) Chart Update

Zenyatta Ventures (ZEN, TSX-V) has found its groove again after a sharp correction that took it from $5 a share last summer to low of $1.80 (critical support held) early this year…note the bullish upsloping channel ZEN is currently in with chart support at $3.10 and Fib. support levels between $2.44 and $2.81…ZEN is now attempting to overcome chart resistance at $3.40, and is up 8 cents at $3.48 through the first hour of trading…

Note: John, Terry and Jon do not hold share positions in PLG, MVN, NAN or ZEN.