Gold is under mild pressure this morning, reacting (not unexpectedly) after nearly touching resistance at $1,350 overnight…as of 7:30 am Pacific, bullion is down $9 an ounce at $1,333…Silver is off 41 cents to $21.59…Copper is off a penny to $3.22…Crude Oil is up 46 cents at $102.29 while the U.S. Dollar Index has surged one-third of a point to 80.47…
Gold shipments into China were strong at 96 metric tons in January, based on Hong Kong and Swiss trade data, according to UBS…flows from Hong Kong into China were about 84 tons, a 9% month-on-month decline but much higher than the same period last year, the bank says…another 12 tons made its way from Switzerland…Hong Kong and Switzerland likely account for the bulk of the flow and therefore provide a good indication of how much metal went into China, UBS says. “The lack of historical data makes it difficult to judge conclusively whether or not this is a strong flow versus other months. But annualizing this volume would imply annual imports of over 1,000 tons, which would be comparable to last year’s volumes. This would suggest that January imports were actually quite strong, considering that 2013 was an exceptional period for physical demand out of China.”
It’s interesting to note that net exports from Hong Kong to mainland China soared 326% year-on-year in January…the total for January 2012 was a very low 19.6 tonnes…
The recent spate of weak U.S. economic data (despite this morning’s better than expected home sales numbers) have “reinforced the notion that while the Federal Reserve will likely continue cutting its economic stimulus, it is nowhere near raising interest rates,” said Peter Hug, director of the precious-metals division at Kitco Metals in Montreal, in a Wall Street Journal report this morning…
There are media reports this morning that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a test of combat readiness for troops in several parts of the country, including an army based around 200 miles from Ukraine’s northern border, but Russia’s defense minister insisted it had nothing to do with unrest there (oh really?)…the move comes amid growing tension between Russia and Ukraine, whose pro-Russian president was ousted by European-leaning protestors over the weekend following violence last week in which more than 80 people were killed…
$10 Million Gold Coin Bonanza
How’s this for some good luck: A Northern California couple out walking their dog on their property stumbled across a modern-day bonanza: $10 million in rare, mint-condition Gold coins buried in the shadow of an old tree, according to a report yesterday from John Rogers of the Associated Press…nearly all of the 1,427 coins, dating from 1847 to 1894, are in uncirculated, mint condition, said David Hall, co-founder of Professional Coin Grading Service of Santa Ana, which recently authenticated them. Although the face value of the Gold pieces only adds up to about $27,000, some of them are so rare that coin experts say they could fetch nearly $1 million apiece. “I don’t like to say once-in-a-lifetime for anything, but you don’t get an opportunity to handle this kind of material, a treasure like this, ever,” said veteran numismatist Don Kagin, who is representing the finders. “It’s like they found the pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow.”
The lesson to be learned here – always keep your eyes open when you’re taking the dog for a walk…
Great Panther Resources Ltd. (GPR, TSX) – What’s It Saying About Silver?
The Great Panther Resources (GPR, TSX) chart is quite interesting as for the first time since the stock’s slide began in early 2011, it has broken above a downtrend line as you can see in this five-year weekly chart…that downtrend line of course has become potential new support, so a re-test of that area (also in the immediate vicinity of the rising 20-day SMA) is very likely, followed perhaps by a dramatic push to the upside in a pattern similar to that of the Venture after it initially broke out of a long-term downtrend in October…renewed strength in GPR, and other Silver stocks for that matter, could be signalling an important major move by Silver at some point in the coming months…GPR’s 200-day SMA has reversed to the upside after being in decline for more than two years – that’s definitely a sign that something is brewing…
GPR is down slightly in early trading today, down 8 cents at $1.31 as of 7:30 am Pacific, which will help unwind a currently slightly overbought RSI(14) condition…look for strong support at the top of the downtrend line…
Today’s Markets
Asia
China’s Shanghai Composite snapped a four-session losing streak overnight, gaining 7 points to close at 2041…Japan’s Nikkei average fell slightly to 14971…
Europe
European markets are down modestly in late trading overseas, pulling back from a six-year high, as worries over pressure on Ukraine’s currency and a potential bank run offset upbeat data out of Germany…the GfK German consumer climate indicator for March rose to a six-year high of 8.5 points, topping expectations of 8.2 points…in addition, the second estimate of fourth-quarter U.K. gross domestic product showed growth of 0.7%, matching expectations…
North America
The Dow is up 60 points as of 7:30 am Pacific…sales of new single-family homes surged to a 5-1/2-year high in January, which could ease concerns of a sharp slowdown in the housing market…the Commerce Department said this morning that sales jumped 9.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000 units, exceeding expectations and the highest level since July 2008…
In Toronto, the TSX has gained 37 points through the first hour of trading…strong drill results this morning out of Trevali Mining Corp. (TV, TSX) from its Stratmat Zinc-Lead-Silver-Copper-Gold deposit in the Bathurst mining camp of New Brunswick…the Stratmat deposit currently hosts a NI-43-101 inferred resource of 5.5 million tonnes grading 6.1% Zinc, 2.6% lead, 0.4% Copper, 54 g/t Silver and 0.6 g/t Gold, and TV chart is looking strong…the stock is up 4 cents at $1.15 as of 7:30 am Pacific…
Venture Updated Chart – Embrace Any Weakness
The mild pullback in the Venture so far this week, after 11 straight winning sessions, is very healthy from a technical perspective and accumulation remains strong…any dip back below the 1000 level should be brief and would present an excellent buying opportunity given the exceptionally strong Fib. and chart support as seen in this 3-month daily from John…over the last couple of months the Venture has also been underpinned by its EMA-20…as of 7:30 am Pacific, the Index is up a point at 1012…
Fission Uranium Corp. (FCU, TSX-V)
Fission Uranium (FCU, TSX-V) is such a compelling, incredible geological story and could fetch a considerably higher market capitalization on a potential takeover, a scenario the company set itself up for with its acquisition last year of PLS joint venture partner Alpha Minerals…FCU is attempting a breakout above chart resistance at $1.40…it’s up 7 cents at $1.44 as of 7:30 am Pacific…
Azincourt Uranium Inc. (AAZ, TSX-V) Updated Chart
Azincourt Uranium (AAZ, TSX-V), which commenced a drilling program at PLN in late January with JV partner Fission 3.0 (FUU, TSX-V), is showing renewed technical strength and could clearly benefit from heightened interest in the overall area…for nearly a year, AAZ has been trading in a horizontal channel between 20 cents and 33 cents – at some point there is going to be a breakout from this channel or a breakdown…the chart and common sense tell us it’ll be the former…patience is critical…AAZ also has a 100% interest in another uranium asset (Macusani) in Peru with a major, shallow depth resource…AAZ is off half a penny at 27 cents as of 7:30 am Pacific…
Another Company Changes From Metals Into Marijuana
Harry Barr’s Next Gen Metals Inc. (N, CSE) has delisted from the Venture and is now trading on the CSE (Canadian Securities Exchange), and it’s yet another company trying to take advantage of the growth in the legal medical marijuana and industrial hemp industries in North America. “Next Gen’s vision is to be a leading provider of venture capital, management expertise, education and a facilitator for this explosive new industry.” Barr added, “A growing proportion of the medical community believe that Medical Marijuana and, more specifically cannabinoids, have the potential to help patients who are suffering from a variety of ailments and illnesses. In addition, Industrial Hemp is an emerging industry in Canada and hemp is one of the strongest natural fibers known to man. Hemp has a wide range of applications including medicine. Both sectors show the potential for exponential growth.” As always, perform your own due diligence…
Nice to see the chart of Great Panther as a long term investor in the company! Have you considered an interview of management and some other junior silver or gold producers? When I first discovered the web site a year or two ago there were periodic interviews with CEOs. I have not seen many lately. Doing a minimum of one per week would be great info!
Comment by Michael — February 26, 2014 @ 11:09 am
Jon does the lack of volume in Ggi suggest to you there’s simply zero interest yet, or Is it possible someone is trying to pick away at these levels and accumulate slowly so as to not draw any attention and create a run?
Comment by John s. — February 26, 2014 @ 12:01 pm
Hi is there still any interest in the graphite play over by Zenyatta, there seems to be a couple of drilling programs going on, I think GTA and CKR are drilling, has anyone at BMR have an up date?
Comment by Gary — February 26, 2014 @ 12:25 pm
Notice Gold goes up, goes down, goes up, goes down, as if someone
was playing with it. They wouldn’t do that would they Bert ? Nawwww !
Why would you think that Bert ? Because there are so many crooked
people out there. That’s not very nice for you to say that Bert..
Welllllll it’s true, the truth has to be told. You take some of
the companies on the Ad-VENTURE exchange, they pay themselves
outrageous salaries, they load up with options, when it is appropriate
to load up with options, they do this & they do that & eventually may
end up as one of our Senators,(perish the thought). Like the saying,
there are only two honest people left out there & that’s you & me &
i have my doubts about you. After all the years i have lived, i am
now only realizing why i am not rich & far from it, it’s because i
was too honest. Good night my friends ! R !-
Comment by Bert — February 26, 2014 @ 4:48 pm
I don’t want to feel grouchy some of the time,
it’s not a good quality of life, but when one is
a participant in this game of gambling, what can
one expect. I plan my moves nightly, only to find
the following morning, that there will be roadblocks.
When i turned on my TV this morning, i seen a screen
of red, except for one green spot & much to my
surprise, it was Gold, up $4.00, but sorry, that
may not be enough to turn the Venture positive. No
matter what people say, no matter what the charts
show, the reality is, the Venture has lost it’s
way. What it will take to bring it back is anyone’s
guess. The one positive thing that i am noticing is
the stocks seem to be holding & at times, they like
to seesaw, down a penny today, up a penny tomorrow.
I can be positive, i can be negative and because i
am a participant in this market, i feel it’s okay to
express my feeling the way i do & this medium is much
better than talking to oneself. Have a good day & here’s
hoping for a better day than i feel we may have. The
Venture do trade opposite to the other indices every
once in awhile, so there is a chance… R !
Comment by Bert — February 27, 2014 @ 4:43 am
I heard on the news this morning that there are
billions, i repeat billions of dollars missing
from the Ukraine treasury. Man oh man what a
sad state of affairs. Our Government gave
Jordan & another Arab country millions of
dollars recently, to help the refuges from Syria.
My concern remains, will that money go to help the
refuges or will it be pocketed. I agree with
helping the refuges, but i am shocked that our
Government could not find the time to talk to our
VETERANS, the folks who fought, so that we can do
our thing. What a shame ! R !
Comment by Bert — February 27, 2014 @ 6:42 am
Bert maybe try and keep things light and only stress about your investments, a guy doesn’t have to search to far to be stressed about other things out of his control in this world.
Comment by Paul — February 27, 2014 @ 7:39 am
the government’s track record speaks for itself
POOR POOR POOR
Comment by ChartTrader — February 27, 2014 @ 7:45 am
Paul – Bert maybe try and keep things light and only stress about your investments, a guy doesn’t have to search to far to be stressed about other things out of his control in this world.
Bert – I am just wondering if you should contact the media &
tell them to lighten up. I will continue my way of posting &
if my postings become a problem for some, would respectfully
request that they not be read. How can i go through life &
disregard what is happening around me & not talk about it.
The same applies to this forum, if i feel that i should take
exception to what is being posted, i will. One has to own
up to the fact that we are all different & no doubt i am.
I do thank you for your post, at least you didn’t accuse
me of drinking. R !
Comment by Bert — February 27, 2014 @ 8:27 am
Bert…:) I too am still toiling due to honesty… I believe that the 2001-2008 timeline brought the worst out in people.. newsletter writers started in that time frame to bilk unsuspecting people out of dough because they made you think they knew something you didnt.
Lifestyle companies like HAO,CAJ,TAD,BRK (in my opinion only) talk about pie in the sky and do nothing with it..
yet give themselves options without any hold??? who does that…
yep – we know who…
but carrying around that crap in our wheelbarrow wont solve the problem… the venture will respond to greed… which really makes you feel good eh!!:)
Happy thursday all… major pileup outside of Barrie this morning… see it could be a lot worse!
Comment by Jeremy — February 27, 2014 @ 8:32 am