Gold has hit a fresh 4-week high of $1,696…as of 6:00 am Pacific, the yellow metal is up $6 an ounce at $1,693…Silver has gained 28 cents to $32.01…Copper is up a penny to $3.64…Crude Oil is flat at $95.30 while the U.S. Dollar Index has gained one-quarter of a point to 79.95…
Orders have been pouring in for the U.S. Mint’s one ounce Silver Eagle bullion coins…4 million coins were sold on the first day they became available January 7th, the highest single day sale in the program’s history…since then, demand has apparently remained extremely strong with over 6 million coins sold in less than 2 weeks which has forced the Mint to temporarily suspend sales to its authorised dealers while it rebuilds inventory…
China Growth Expands In Fourth Quarter
China’s economic growth accelerated in the fourth quarter of 2012, confirming a rebound for the world’s second-largest economy after a more than two-year slowdown…the country’s gross domestic product rose by 7.9% from a year earlier in the fourth quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said today…that was up from 7.4% growth in the third quarter and slightly above expectations for a 7.8% rise, according to the median forecast in an earlier Wall Street Journal poll of 17 economists…the up-tick suggests that Chinese growth is likely to stabilize at around 8% this year, lower than the double-digit rates that it has achieved for much of the past three decades, but still a robust pace of expansion that will help support the global economy and demand for commodities…increased government spending on infrastructure projects such as urban subways, plus moves by the central bank to loosen liquidity in the banking system since mid-year, helped to arrest the slowdown and engineer a recovery in activity…
Today’s Markets
Asian markets were strong overnight with China’s Shanghai Composite gaining 32 points to close at 2317…Japan’s Nikkei average, meanwhile, surged 303 points or 2.9% (its biggest daily percentage gain in 22 months)…the Nikkei is on its longest weekly winning streak since 1987…European shares are modestly higher while stock index futures in New York as of 6:00 am Pacific are pointing toward a flat to slightly positive open on Wall Street…a strong finish to the week by the Venture Exchange would be a welcome sign, especially if the Index can break above important resistance at 1240…it closed up 3 points yesterday at 1233…
CRB Index Chart
One important factor that bodes well for the Venture Exchange is the bullish-looking trend in the CRB Index as shown in John’s 2.5-year weekly chart below…this Index is within just a couple of points of breaking above resistance at 302 as an inverted head and shoulders pattern continues to evolve…significant strength in the CRB Index in 2013 would clearly energize the Venture as there is a strong correlation between the two…
Everton Resources (EVR, TSX-V) Update
As regular readers know, we are very bullish on the prospects for Everton Resources (EVR, TSX-V) in 2013 as the company ramps up exploration at its portfolio of properties in the Dominican Republic…of particular interest, of course, is the APV Property which adjoins the massive Pueblo-Viejo Mine that majority owner Barrick Gold (ABX, TSX) just put into commerical production (on time and on budget)…the structures controlling mineralization at Pueblo Viejo are believed to trend on to APV where drilling has been carried out over just a fraction (10%) of that property…the exploration upside is immense and the area of course is surrounded by excellent infrastructure…yesterday, we spoke with CEO Andre Audet who has granted our request for an interview during the upcoming Vancouver Resource Show (Sunday and Monday) to follow up on the company’s recent exploration date (January 9)…trading at just 9 cents, the risk-reward ratio with Everton is highly favorable in our view given the quality of its DR land package and several overall potential catalysts with this stock…as always, perform your own due diligence…our interview with Audet will be posted by the middle of next week…technically, EVR is looking very strong at the moment as outlined in John’s 2.5-year weekly chart…the recent price increase has been accompanied by higher volume, and it’s also worth noting (this is not shown in the chart) that EVR’s 200-day moving average (SMA) has flattened out at 8 cents and appears poised for a reversal to the upside after being in decline since late 2011…
GoldQuest Mining (GQC, TSX-V) Update
GoldQuest Mining (GQC, TSX-V) came out with fresh drill results yesterday (9 more holes) from its Romero Gold-Copper discovery in the DR, which were very positive though not spectacular, and GQC gained a penny to 62 cents…we’ll have more on GQC next week…
Parlane Resource Corp. (PPP, TSX-V) Update
Parlane Resource Corp. (PPP, TSX-V) has firmed up in recent days with a 3-cent jump to 21 cents yesterday on volume of nearly 300,000 shares…the company commenced a drill program on five target areas at its Big Bear Project in the Blackwater district in early November, and results are likely not far off with speculation obviously building…the chart below shows resistance at 21 cents, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens today…
Abcourt Mines (ABI, TSX-V) Chart Update
Note: John, Jon and Terry do not hold share positions in ABI, GQC or EVR. John and Jon hold positions in PPP.
RBW – You were right Jon looks like it was a quick pull back. Big bidders at 13 and 13.5 cents. Over 200000 shares at both. Decent sized bidders at 14 and 14.5. Most shares being bought today at the ask. Thins out quite a bit after 15 cents up to 18 to 20 cents.
Comment by Ed — January 18, 2013 @ 10:28 am
TORONTO, ONTARIO, January 18, 2013: Rainbow Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: RBW; OTCQX: RIINF) (“Rainbow” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that it is actively pursuing options aimed at unlocking the value of its large flake graphite land package in the immediate vicinity of western North America’s only producing natural flake graphite mine in southeast British Columbia, operated by privately-held Eagle Graphite Corporation. FINALLY,THEY RE LISTENING TO ME 😉
Comment by greg — January 18, 2013 @ 1:45 pm
hum,ppp ,looks a little fishy to me,jumps 4 cents and news at closeing,looks like someone knew something,hum,just my opinion.should be interesting monday morn.ya i’ll be there.
Comment by tom — January 18, 2013 @ 2:02 pm
The growth in China is obviously some very good news for the macroeconomic environment. Also over the last few weeks, I have read the concerns over in Europe are lessening. Some very positive indicators for us to go on. Wonderful analysis on this site, I check it often.
Comment by Bucky — January 19, 2013 @ 6:42 pm
Does anyone knows what is the story behind these consultants who will strategically assist RBW at unlocking the value of their graphite claim? I am concerned that the NR had a total lack of details on this arrangement, except for the fact that the consultants are getting 1,000,000 shares, which at 15 cents will be in the money. Who are these consultants and what are their qualifications? What happens if nothing unfolds, and yet they will be mightily compensated even if the PS only rises by 50% from these levels. Mr. Johnston must come clear on this soon.
Comment by Alexandre — January 20, 2013 @ 7:20 am