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Gold has hovered between $1,286 and $1,299 so far today…as of 7:50 am Pacific, bullion is up $5 an ounce at $1,297…Silver is up a dime to $20.34…Copper is down 2 pennies at $3.24…Crude Oil is down slightly, just above $100 a barrel, while the U.S. Dollar Index has fallen one-third of a point to 80.34…this is a slightly delayed and abbreviated edition of Morning Musings due to Telus wireless issues in parts of Vancouver this morning…

Concerns about high debt and an overvalued currency are sucking Gold imports into China, according to a new report from Lombard Street Research…it adds that China may indeed be moving in the direction of using Gold in a plan to make the yuan an international currency…Beijing has said that it does not view Gold as a useful asset for diversifying the country’s $3.8 trillion worth of foreign exchange reserves, according to media reports…China’s official reserves of Gold stand at 1,054 metric tons, worth about $45 billion (U.S.)…this figure has not been updated since 2009 and Lombard believes that since then, with China’s imports of Gold and domestic production totaling 4,500 metric tons, the country’s Gold reserves have increased significantly…

CIBC believes 2014 will a much better year for junior Gold mining companies as Gold prices stabilize and investor confidence returns to the marketplace…CIBC said in a research note that with a challenging 2013 now in the past, 2014 will be a year of “multiple expansion” for junior miners…“We expect a more constructive Gold price and diminished cost inflation for miners should lead to investors ascribing greater option value to underlying assets in the junior space,” CIBC said. “With commodity prices and costs starting to move in the right direction, we believe investors can look to developers for Gold exposure given where the multiples sit.” CIBC said their focus is on well capitalized companies with high-grade deposits and/or infrastructure-supported projects.  “We suspect such assets will be more attractive from a financing perspective and as potential acquisition targets in the near term,” they stated…

Gold Breakout – Updated Chart

Gold has staged a confirmed breakout above chart resistance around $1,275 and a downtrend line as shown in this updated 9-month daily chart…RSI(14), at 65%, still has room to move higher – we’ll see if it encounters resistance at 70% as it did last summer…Gold’s next major resistance is $1,350…

Platinum Long-Term Chart

Supply-demand factors have many analysts bullish on Platinum this year…below is a 20-year monthly “big picture” technical view of the metal…sell pressure has been dominant since late 2011 but Platinum has exceptional support at $1,300 while RSI(14) has been able to hold at or above the 40% level for an extended period…

One of our favorite companies in the Platinum space is Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (PTM, TSX) which closed a bought deal financing for $175 million at $1.18 per share at the end of last year as it pushes ahead with mine development at the Waterberg JV Project in South Africa and continued exploration at the Waterberg Extension which is showing considerable promise…

Today’s Markets

Asia

Japan’s Nikkei average tumbled 265 points or 1.79% overnight to 14535…after four straight winning sessions that took the Index to a one-month high, China’s Shanghai Composite slid 12 points to close at 2098…

Europe

European shares are down moderately in late trading overseas…

North America

The Dow is off 27 points as of 7:30 am Pacific, thanks in part to some weaker than expected economic data…U.S. retail sales declined 0.4% in January from December as reported by the Commerce Department this morning…excluding autos, retail sales were flat…revisions showed that retail sales fell 0.1% in December, down from an initially reported 0.2% rise…economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a 0.1% drop in overall retail sales in January and a 0.1% rise in sales excluding autos..meanwhile, initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 339,000 from 331,000 the week before, the Labor Department said this morning…the four-week moving average for new claims rose slightly to 336,750 from 333,250…

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s appearance today before the Senate Banking Committee has been postponed by expected inclement weather in the Washington D.C. area…the new Fed chief appeared Tuesday before the House Financial Services Committee for semi-annual testimony on the economy and monetary policy…she largely signaled continuity in the Fed’s policy…

The TSX has reversed earlier losses and is now up 6 points as of 7:50 am Pacific…the Gold Index is 3 points higher at 192 as investors shrug off earnings reports that included more “impairment charges” from the likes of Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX, TSX), Goldcorp Inc. (G, TSX) and others…

In a news release this morning, Barrick President and CEO Jamie Sokalsky stated, “Under a comprehensive plan to strengthen the company, we have become a leaner, more agile organization, better protected against further downside price risk and well positioned to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities going forward. We have increased our focus on free cash flow and risk-adjusted returns, and successfully executed on our key priorities, which include operational excellence, a stronger balance sheet and the ongoing optimization of our asset portfolio. This required decisive action, including the temporary suspension of Pascua-Lama, and an even greater focus on generating higher returns even if that means producing fewer ounces. These were the right decisions for our shareholders and for the company, and we are now seeing the tangible benefits of our efforts.”

TSX Updated Chart

A four-year weekly TSX chart from John shows a market climbing a steady uptrend and on the verge of pushing through resistance around current levels…it appears from this chart that the TSX will take a run at its early 2011 high just above 14300…the TSX has recouped nearly all of its losses from the 2011 correction, while the Venture is still off 60% from its high of 2465…

Starcore International Mines Ltd. (SAM, TSX) Updated Chart

Rising Gold prices and a weak Canadian dollar will help producers including Starcore International Mines (SAM, TSX) which recently reported its best annual production (24,425 AuEq ounces, a 27% increase over the previous calendar year) since 2007…Starcore is now aiming to expand resources at its St. Martin mine with a 5,000 metre drill program this year…technically, 24 cents remains key resistance for SAM as shown in this 2.5-year weekly chart…strong support exists at 20 cents…encouragingly, the 200-day moving average (SMA), at 19 cents, is now reversing to the upside – ending a decline that started in late 2012…overall trend is clearly bullish…

Venture Update

A confirmed breakout has yet to occur in the Venture as it continues its attempt to make a decisive move through the 970’s…we believe it’s just a question of when, not if, so investors must remain patient…the Index is looking very strong, as John’s chart showed yesterday, so investors should have confidence embracing this morning’s minor weakness…a strong close to the week tomorrow, and a confirmed breakout, could definitely be in the cards…

Contact Exploration Inc. (CEX, TSX-V) Updated Chart

Energy plays have been in the spotlight this week, and one company we strongly suggest our readers perform their due diligence on is Contact Exploration Inc. (CEX, TSX) which continues to have fundamentals and technicals in its favor…this is a textbook chart (2.5-year weekly)…after testing uptrend support, CEX is poised to move higher…

Global Met Coal Corp.(GMZ, TSX-V)

Recent news from Global Met Coal Corp. (GMZ, TSX-V) was very positive, as we indicated, and GMZ closed above resistance yesterday at 5.5 cents…this was a breakout that requires confirmation…GMZ is unchanged at 5.5 cents as of 7:50 am Pacific…

Note: Jon holds a share position in GMZ.