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Gold has traded between $1,308 and $1,318 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, the yellow metal is down $1 an ounce at $1,311…Silver has added 2 cents to $20.02…Copper is off 3 pennies to $2.96…Crude Oil is up 63 cents at $99.82 while the U.S. Dollar Index has gained one-tenth of a point to 80.08…

Average annual Gold prices are expected to remain steady and stay above the lows seen at the end of 2013, CPM Group predicts…the New York-based consultancy released its annual Gold Yearbook yesterday which is considered one of the industry’s most coveted staples for forecasting the metal…findings from CPM Group show Gold prices averaged $1,409.43 an ounce in 2013, down 15.6% from the average Gold price of $1,670.15 an ounce in 2012…this was the first annual average decline for the yellow metal in more than a decade…“The decline was sharper on a daily basis, with prices slipping to $1,202.30 on 31 December 2013, down 28.3% from the end of 2012,” CPM Group said…the firm now expects Gold prices to move higher than they were at the end of 2013, with an  average annual 2014 price of $1,330 an ounce…

Iraq’s central bank said it bought 36 metric tons of Gold this month in the largest purchase by a nation in three years…Russia and Kazakhstan were among countries that added bullion to reserves in February, while Mexico and Malaysia’s holdings declined, according to data from the International Monetary Fund…

Updated Copper Chart

As we mentioned the other day, oversold levels have appeared in Copper and possibly an important low within the support band from $2.90 to $3.00…any fresh stimulus from the Chinese government and/or the ECB during the upcoming second quarter would likely be helpful for Copper which in the last three months has slid from a high of $3.45 to a low of $2.88, a nearly 17% drop…on the 2.5-year weekly chart, you can see how the metal has bounced off previous RSI(14) support…sell pressure remains dominant but weak, less intense than that witnessed during 2012 and in the June-July-August period last year…

Today’s Markets

Asia

Japan’s Nikkei climbed 54 points overnight while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 4 points to close at 2064…the prospect of a reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cut from the People’s Bank of China remains in focus following a disappointing reading of March factory activity…

Europe

European markets are significantly higher for a second straight day in late trading overseas…ECB officials sent strong signals yesterday that they are willing to consider dramatic steps to guard against dangerously low inflation, suggesting the bank is prepared to shed some of its traditionally cautious approach…the possible tools, cited by some top policy makers from different parts of the euro zone, include effective negative interest rates – meaning rates so low that commercial banks would essentially pay the ECB to park their extra cash overnight…they also include purchases of government or private-sector debt to hold down long-term rates and spur lending…

North America

The Dow is up 53 points as of 7:00 am Pacific…orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rebounded more than expected in February and shipments snapped two straight months of declines, providing fresh signs the economy was shaking off some of its winter gloom…the Commerce Department said this morning that durable goods orders rose 2.2% as demand increased almost across the board, ending two consecutive months of declines…

The TSX is 20 points higher through the first 30 minutes of trading while the Venture is up 2 points at 1020…

Highbank Resources Ltd. (HBK, TSX-V) Update

Highbank Resources (HBK, TSX-V) is making immediate progress toward securing potential sales contracts and revenue following receipt of all the necessary permitting to produce aggregate from its Swamp Point North Project near Prince Rupert…the company has signed a letter of intent with North Coast Concrete which has committed to accept 150,000 tonnes of aggregate based on the ability of Highbank to meet the specifications and delivery requirements as stipulated, for use in concrete to supply construction projects in the Port of Prince Rupert area, for one year from the date of the LOI…

Technically, HBK is looking very strong with a confirmed breakout above 15 cents, a level that has not been exceeded since 2008…below is a 10-year monthly chart from John…HBK is up a penny at 17 cents on light volume through the first 30 minutes of trading…

GoldQuest Mining Corp. (GQC, TSX-V)

GoldQuest Mining (GQC, TSX-V) continues to look very strong from a technical standpoint as the company gears up for more drilling in the Dominican Republic to test promising areas in the district around the multi-million ounce AuEq Romero discovery…last month, the company commenced an important heli-borne ZTEM geophysical survey covering its entire 100%-owned Tireo concessions which will allow GQC to quickly evaluate the complete area to depths beyond 1 km in order to identify potential new hydrothermal systems…the 60-km strike length of the Tireo concessions has been unexamined to date…great potential for new drilling discoveries by GoldQuest this year in our view…

Below is a 2.5-year weekly GQC chart…the stock has excellent support in the low 30′s where the 50 and 200-day SMA’s have converged (a “Golden Cross” is in the works)… a strong resistance band exists between 40 and 48.5 cents…GQC is unchanged at 33.5 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…

Probe Mines Ltd. (PRB, TSX-V)

Probe Mines (PRB, TSX-V) has backed off slightly in recent sessions but look how the MA(10) on this 2.5-year weekly chart has provided rock-solid support since the stock started its big move in the second quarter of last year…the MA(10) is currently at $3.18…PRB is consolidating after hitting an all-time high of $3.95 March 14…given how drilling continues to produce outstanding results from Borden Lake – already a multi-million ounce Gold deposit – we can’t help but believe the risk-reward ratio at current levels for PRB remains highly attractive…the stock closed yesterday at $3.50, its 20-day SMA which has also been a strong supporting moving average…PRB is off 2 pennies at $3.48 as of 7:00 am Pacific…

Romios Gold Resources Inc. (RG, TSX-V)

Don’t count out Romios Gold (RG, TSX-V) in the Sheslay Valley sweepstakes, and keep in mind the company also has other projects from British Columbia to Ontario…what’s interesting about this 3-year weekly chart is that RG is on the edge of an important potential breakout above a long-term downtrend line…alternatively, there’s also the potential for a break below support at a nickel…however, the preponderance of buy pressure since last fall suggests the former possibility is more likely…a big offer exists at 7.5 cents but that also sets up bullish possibilities if it’s taken out (or removed) on a breakout above the resistance…we’ve seen the Venture itself and many Venture stocks push through long-term downtrend lines in recent months with bullish results…as always, perform your own due diligence…RG closed at 5 cents yesterday…

Note: John, Terry and Jon do not hold share positions in HBK, GQC, PRB or RG.