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Gold has traded between $1,233 and $1,258 so far today…as of 4:45 am Pacific, bullion is down $16 an ounce at $1,236 as it gives up some more of its gains after Tuesday’s strong move…Silver is off 60 cents at $19.70…Copper is unchanged at $3.27…Crude Oil is up 24 cents at $97.68 while the U.S. Dollar Index is flat at 79.91…

“The aggressive increase in short positions over the last five weeks combined with thinning liquidity conditions as we head closer to the year-end holiday season meant that the market had become vulnerable to being squeezed higher,” commented UBS analyst Joni Teves.  Tuesday’s move “reflected uneasy shorts giving up positions, and stops getting triggered to further amplify the move.”

As John’s chart showed yesterday, Gold has a resistance band between $1,260 and $1,280 to deal with…very strong support has been built at and just above $1,200…next week’s FMOC meeting will go a long way toward determining if Gold can put in a year-end rally that will cut some of this year’s losses with bullion set for its first annual decline in 13 years…

South Korean news agencies are reporting that North Korea, in the grips of a major economic crisis, is selling “large amounts” of Gold to China…as Mineweb’s Lawrence Williams stated in an article yesterday, “As such sales, if they are happening as reported, are likely to be government to government, then this could be another indicator that China is building reserves without reporting this to the IMF.”

Today’s Markets

Asian markets were lower overnight, though China’s Shanghai Composite recovered from its lows of the day to finish down by just a point at 2203…Japan’s Nikkei fell 173 points or 1.1% to close at 15342…

European shares are down modestly in late trading overseas…

Stock index futures in New York as of 4:45 am Pacific are pointing toward a slightly lower open on Wall Street after the Dow tumbled 130 points yesterday, its biggest single-day drop in over a month…

TSX Updated Chart

The TSX, with a nearly 200-point drop yesterday, closed below its still-rising 50-day moving average (SMA) for just the second time since July…below is an interesting 4-year weekly chart from John…note how the TSX has corrected to the 61.8% Fib. retracement level as well as an uptrend line established over the last several months…there is superb technical support between the Fib. 50% and 61.8% retracement levels (12774 and 13134, respectively)…

Venture Updated Chart

The Venture closed below 900 yesterday for the first time since July, but this should be the final week of significant tax-loss selling which should set up a much better second half of the month as we have suggested…it’s important to note that the 2-year downtrend line, which the Venture finally broke above in October, is now providing support…all indications from a technical standpoint are that the late June low of 859 is not about to be breached…below is John’s updated 3-year weekly chart…

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

As we speculated, weakness late last month in Madalena Energy (MVN, TSX-V) was an excellent opportunity brought about by a $9.2 million bought-deal financing at 47 cents a share…MVN, which is developing significant assets in the Paddle River area of west-central Alberta as well as Argentina, has quickly reversed to the upside and closed at 59 cents yesterday, just a penny below its 52-week high…MVN looks strong entering 2014, and below is a 2.5-year weekly chart with Fib. resistance levels…as always, perform your own due diligence…

Garibaldi Resources Corp. (GGI, TSX-V) Update

Very interesting news from Garibaldi Resources (GGI, TSX-V) after the market closed yesterday as the company reported impressive channel sampling results from La Patilla and the start of a first-ever diamond drilling program at that Gold property in Sinaloa State, Mexico…grab samples are mere “pin-pricks” and don’t necessarily mean a whole lot; channel samples are an entirely different matter and give representative grades and widths across structure…the level of detail provided by GGI on La Patilla, if one examines the geology and drill hole location maps released yesterday, suggests this property does indeed have excellent potential for hosting a modest near-surface deposit…what’s also revealing is that GGI has already cut a deal (prior to drilling) with the local community regarding possible extraction at La Patilla…

GGI is commencing drilling immediately with the drill map showing three proposed holes into the heart of the Murcielago breccia where channel sampling returned intervals grading 28.4 g/t Au over 1.3 m, 7.5 g/t Au over 6.4 m, 6.2 g/t Au over 3.3 m, and 5.8 g/t Au over 7.9 m…those kind of numbers are an excellent indication that this breccia has some robustness to it…if mineralization holds together at depth, then GGI is off to the races…how this breccia and the La Patilla vein system contiguous to the southeast are possibly related will be interesting to determine…nine drill hole locations have been plotted over this vein system hosted in rhyolite and underlain by andesite…strong mineralization could occur at the the altered contact between the rhyolite and the andesite…

Between La Patilla and assays pending for the 17th hole completed at the Locust target at the Tonichi Project, GGI has two significant near-term potential catalysts in Mexico plus news to come regarding the Grizzly Property in northwest B.C. – just the Grizzly itself is enough to give GGI a big lift in 2014…

Unlike many Venture companies at the moment, GGI is not standing still – it is making things happen on the ground, and is showing a determination to build shareholder value…

We’ll have more on La Patilla Monday as we further digest the detailed information released late yesterday…

Mason Graphite Inc. (LLG, TSX-V) Update

Strong day yesterday for Mason Graphite (LLG, TSX-V) which finally broke above critical resistance around 50 cents…below is a 2+ year weekly chart from John…

Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in GGI. 

Gold has traded between $1,253 and $1,265 so far today after yesterday’s impressive move through $1,250…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is down $3 an ounce at $1,259…Silver is off 2 cents at $20.41…Copper is up a penny at $3.26…Crude Oil is down 50 cents at $98.01 while the U.S. Dollar Index is off slightly at 79.90…

So it appears there won’t be another U.S. government shutdown early in the New Year which is a good thing for Gold…during the last 16-day shutdown in October, bullion lost 3.5% as investors shunned the metal’s safe haven appeal…Gold seems to prefer a U.S. government in full motion that ignores its debt and spending problems…budget negotiators last night struck a bi-partisan deal (requires House and Senate approval) to set spending limits until 2015, breaking a fiscal logjam (the debt ceiling limit, however, will still be an issue in February or March)…the proposal would restore about $63 billion in funding that had been cut by the so-called sequester…officials said the increases would be offset by a variety of spending reductions and increased fees elsewhere in the budget totaling about $85 billion over a decade, leaving enough for a largely symbolic deficit cut of $23 billion over the next decade…fiscal conservatives warned that lawmakers were simply trading increased spending now for “promises” of cuts sometime in the future…the deal sets discretionary spending levels at just over $1 trillion, which is higher than the hard-fought level of $967 billion set in a 2011 budget pact…

Updated Gold Chart

Will Gold limp or sprint across the 2013 finish line?…it has been a tough year for the yellow metal, destined for its first annual decline in 13 years…but indications are that Gold will show some strength in the closing days of 2013…critical support around $1,200 has held…now it’ll be interesting to see how Gold handles a resistance band between $1,260 and $1,280…two factors are in Gold’s favor as 2013 winds down – hedge funds are the least bullish on the yellow metal since 2007 when it averaged $700 an ounce, and the U.S. Dollar Index continues to look weak and vulnerable…

Below is an updated 6-month daily Gold chart from John…

In a commentary yesterday, respected technical analyst and Kitco contributor Jim Wyckoff stated, “From a longer-term chart perspective, the Gold market bulls will need to push nearby futures prices back above strong technical resistance at $1,450 to suggest the longer-term price decline has ended, and that prices can embark upon a longer-term uptrend.  While the Gold market bears are presently enjoying the firm technical advantage, this bear market run is very mature and trader/investor/analyst attitudes have become very bearish. Those are early clues from a cyclical and human psychology perspective that the Gold market is close to a price bottom. There’s an old bit of trading wisdom that says markets are the most very bullish at the very top, and markets are the most very bearish at the very bottom. Also remember that the monthly Gold chart shows two uptrend lines still intact.”

The Collapsing Greenback

Many investors and the mainstream media haven’t picked up on this yet, but the U.S. Dollar Index is in trouble from a technical perspective…in September, we pointed out that the Dollar Index had broken below a 2-year uptrend line on the weekly chart…soon after that occurred, the Index tested strong support at 79 and then staged a rally that met resistance, as expected, around 81…now it looks as if the Index will once again test support at 79 but whether that support will hold this time is a big “if”…a declining 200-day moving average (SMA) is applying downward pressure…other indicators are negative…next week’s Fed policy meeting will either rescue the greenback or sink it…

CRB Index Updated Chart

The CRB Index is firming up going into year-end, and broke above a downtrend line yesterday on the 1-year weekly chart…given the usual strong correlation between the CRB Index and the Venture, this is additional evidence that the Venture will hold critical support and finish the year with some positive energy…

Today’s Markets

Asia

China’s Shanghai Composite closed at its lowest level in two weeks, losing 33 points to close at 2204, as nervous investors awaited updates from the government’s annual Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) which began yesterday…the meeting is expected to draw a detailed reform road map for the country’s economic development in 2014…

Japan’s Nikkei slipped 96 points overnight to finish at 15515…

Europe

European shares are mostly slightly higher in late trading overseas…finance ministers have reached the basis of an agreement to wind down failing banks and share the costs after a marathon bargaining session in Brussels…

North America

The Dow is down 33 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…the TSX has lost 74 points while the Venture is down 1 point at 903…

Starcore International Mines Ltd. (SAM, TSX) this morning reported net income for its first quarter of fiscal 2014 (ending Oct. 31) of $2.3 million or 2 cents per share, thanks to improved recoveries and grades at its San Martin Mine in Mexico…SAM is up 2.5 cents to 18.5 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…

Fission Uranium Corp. (FCU, TSX-V)

The Saskatchewan uranium play should attract even greater investor attention in 2014, in particular if the Venture heats up, and the leader of the pack of course is Fission Uranium Corp. (FCU, TSX-V) with its now 100% owned Patterson Lake South Project…technically, Fission has shown tremendous support around the $1 level and appears poised to pick up steam going into the final three weeks of the year…FCU climbed 8 cents yesterday to close at $1.12, and has added another 2 pennies in early trading today…

Below is a 6-month daily chart from John…

True Gold Mining Inc. (TGM, TSX-V) Updated Chart

An impressive support band in the low 30’s has underpinned True Gold Mining (TGM, TSX-V) for the last several months – definitely a play worth keeping on the radar screen going into 2014 as the company continues to develop its Karma Gold Project in West Africa…TGM would clearly benefit from a strengthening Gold price…TGM is unchanged at 36.5 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…

Note: John, Terry and Jon do not hold share positions in SAM, FCU or TGM.

Gold fell as low as $1,240 overnight but has jumped higher on short covering, bargain hunting, and fresh weakness in the struggling U.S. Dollar Index…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is up $26 an ounce at $1,266…Silver is 54 cents higher at $20.38…Copper is up 2 pennies to $3.26…Crude Oil has climbed another 97 cents a barrel to $97.98 while the U.S. Dollar Index is off one-quarter of a point to 79.89…

Winds of political change are blowing in India where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government suffered a resounding setback Sunday…voters handed victories in three state polls to the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharativa Janata party, led by prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi…India’s general election is looming early next year…many investors are pinning their hopes on Modi who has campaigned as a pro-business, reform-minded leader…potential political changes in India may also bring to an end the current incompetent government’s hard stance regarding Gold imports…jewellers from across the country, diamond retailers and bullion traders are all lining up to pledge their support for Modi…

Very positive sign that Gold is about to turn the corner – large speculators, typically on the wrong side of the trade, cut their bullish Gold futures and options holdings to the lowest ever last week, according to data released late Friday by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission…the overall COT structure is very bullish with commercials – the “smart money” – slashing their net-short positions…

PwC Global Gold Price Report

A PwC survey of the top 40 global mining companies by market cap determined only seven companies provide an all-in cost figure…only six companies – Barrick, Goldcorp, Gold Fields, Kinross, Newmont and Vale – disclose their definition of sustaining capital…“Transparency on costs can help management make the case for difficult decisions, such as workforce reductions, care-and-maintenance announcement and divestitures,” said the report. “The prospect of continuing tight margins for the foreseeable future suggests that analysts and shareholders will keep up the pressure on miners for improved disclosure.”

To access the 2013 PwC Global Gold Price Report, go to www.pwc.com/ca/goldsurvey

Today’s Markets

Asian markets were relatively flat overnight with China’s Shanghai Composite down just 1 point to 2237…data released today showed Chinese November retail sales beat estimates while industrial output matched market expectations…those numbers follow stronger-than-expected trade figures released over the weekend and confirm hopes that the world’s second-largest economy can sustain its positive trend into year-end…

European shares are down modestly in late trading overseas…

The Dow is 27 points lower as of 7:00 am Pacific…the TSX is up 20 points, thanks in part to strength in the Gold Index, while the Venture has added 2 points to 904…yesterday’s drop of 15 points appeared to be related almost entirely to tax-loss selling, the bulk of which is likely out of the way which sets the stage for a sharp reversal higher during the last half of the month…

Reservior Minerals Inc. (RMC, TSX-V), which reported a spectacular hole last week, has hit another new all-time high this morning…it’s up 22 cents at $5.60 through the first 30 minutes of trading…

Platinum Group Metals (PTM, TSX) has arranged a $175 million bought-deal financing (148.5 million shares at $1.18 a share), shortly after announcing impressive assays from its 87% owned Waterberg Extension Project in South Africa including 1.4 g/t Au Pt, 3.59 g/t Pd and 0.27 g/t Au (5.26 g/t Au 3E) in hole WE-08…PTM is down 7 cents at $1.18 as of 7:00 am Pacific…should be an interesting play to watch in 2014…

Crude Oil Updated Chart

WTIC continues to trade within an ascending triangle, and the recent weakness was quite normal when one examines the long-term chart…if Crude can continue to hold support, and perhaps get back above the $100 level, this would obviously be very helpful for Gold…

Contact Exploration Inc. (CEX, TSX-V)

An oil and gas junior that we’ve been tracking in recent months with increasing interest is Contact Exploration (CEX, TSX-V) which continues to accelerate its Kakwa Montney play in Alberta…CEX continues to look poised for a breakout based not just on fundamental factors – continued increases in production as East Kakwa pushes westward – but given the underlying bullishness of the long-term chart…as always, perform your own due diligence…

Below is an updated 2.5-year weekly CEX chart from John…since late 2012, CEX has been trading in a horizontal channel between 18 cents and 28 cents, and a decisive move above that channel appears to be in the works but exact timing of course is uncertain...CEX climbed as high as 30 cents yesterday before closing at 28.5 cents…it’s off half a penny at 28 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…

Prosper Gold Corp. (PGX, TSX-V) Update

At BMR, we have only begun to highlight the potential of the Sheslay Valley region of northwest British Columbia to host a series of world class Cu-Au porphyry deposits, and we are currently preparing a special report for release early in the New Year to follow up on months of exhaustive research that has included discussions with some of the top geologists and prospectors in the country…BMR intends on being the leading online source for the Sheslay Valley area in 2014 – focusing in particular on Prosper Gold (PGX, TSX-V) and Garibaldi Resources (GGI, TSX-V)  – as the wealth opportunity for investors is immense in our view given what has been learned through exploration in recent months by both companies…

While Garibaldi has held up well due to exploration and drilling this winter in Mexico, Prosper has taken a hit simply due to the fact of inactivity on the ground as the Sheslay is its only project…”short-term” investors (traders) exited PGX beginning at the end of October due to the fact they saw “dead money” for a few months – no drilling and no news…they’ll be piling back in at the appropriate time…meanwhile, the hair cut in the PGX share price has created in our view an even greater opportunity for investors who can see beyond the next 24 hours to what should unfold over the next 12 months…the “Star” is just one of several Cu-Au porphyry targets at the Sheslay, and the consistency of mineralization in 29 holes drilled to date at the Star – 23 historically and six by Prosper – is nothing short of remarkable in terms of intersection lengths and grades…a back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that if Prosper is able to connect the Star target with just the North Star, a very real possibility given what was learned over the summer, a deposit of at least several hundred million tonnes is in the cards…with a superior management team – the same group that discovered Blackwater with Richfield Ventures getting taken out by New Gold Inc. (NGD, TSX) for half a billion dollars – Prosper has enormous potential in our view from current levels…they have a model for the Sheslay, and we believe they’ll be able to prove it up…

Below is an updated 2.5-year weekly PGX chart from John…strong support at 25 cents has held…expect Pete Bernier and Company to come out swinging in January…

Revolver Resources Inc. (RZ, TSX-V)

While the Shelsay has clearly taken the lead over Colorado Resources‘ (CXO, TSX-V) North ROK discovery as the top exploration play in the general “Red Chris” area of northwest B.C., speculators will certainly be keeping an eye in the coming weeks on little Revolver Resources (RZ, TSX-V) which has completed a small financing and mobilized a drill rig to its Summit “B” Property contiguous with North ROK…Revolver’s timing is good – Venture tax-loss selling is winding down, and we should see a significant turnaround in the Venture during the last half of the month…RZ closed at 3 cents yesterday and is supported by rising 100 and 200-day moving averages (SMA’s) as shown in John’s 2.5-year weekly chart…as always, perform your own due diligence…RZ is up half a penny at 3.5 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…

LX Ventures Inc. (LXV, TSX-V) Updated Chart

Social media darling and the ever-volatile LX Ventures (LXV, TSX-V) found support recently near its 20-day SMA, as expected, and has stabilized after a healthy pullback from its recent high of 96 cents…below is an updated 2.5-year weekly chart from John…as of 7:00 am Pacific, LXV is up a penny at 74 cents after falling as low as 68 cents in the first minutes of trading – 4 pennies above the 20-day SMA…

Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in GGI.  Jon also holds a share position in PGX.

Gold has traded in a tight range between $1,227 and $1,234 so far today…as of 4:45 am Pacific, bullion is down $1 an ounce at $1,230…Silver is off 6 pennies at $19.48…Copper is up a penny at $3.22…Crude Oil, after a 5% jump last week, is unchanged at $97.65 while the U.S. Dollar Index is off nearly one-tenth of a point to 80.22…

“The Gold price is likely to recover from its historic slump this year and increase moderately in 2014,” according to Commerzbank in an outlook released Friday. “Investment demand should gradually revive. In conjunction with robust demand from Asia, this indicates upward movement in the Gold price to $1,400 per troy ounce by the end of 2014.

“Stronger investment demand is essential for upward movement in the Gold price,” the bank said. “The most important question will therefore be when the negative trend amongst ETF investors will be reversed. If strong demand from Asia can no longer be satisfied out of ETF holdings, as has been the case this year, the Gold price is likely to rise.

“In the wake of Gold, and boosted by growing industrial demand, the Silver price should also be able to make good some of its losses next year. As a result of supply problems and rising demand, platinum and palladium are also likely to show supply deficits in 2014, supporting higher prices.”

Today’s Markets

Buoyed by a weaker yen, Japan’s Nikkei soared 350 points or 2.3% overnight to close at 15650…Japan’s economy slowed more sharply in the third quarter than official estimates had previously suggested, according to revised government data released today…the updated calculation of GDP in the three months to September showed that economic output increased at an annualized rate of only 1.1%, compared with an initial estimate of 1.9% announced last month…

China’s Shanghai Composite was relatively unchanged, gaining a point to close at 2238…economic data released over the weekend showed exports exceeded forecasts in November with a 12.7% rise, another sign that the world’s second-largest economy is stabilizing…annual inflation, meanwhile, slowed to 3% in November…a slew of economic data will be released tomorrow in China including industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment…

European shares are mixed in late trading overseas…

Stock market index futures as of 5:00 am Pacific are pointing toward a flat opening in New York…several Federal Reserve officials are due to speak today before the Fed goes into its “blackout” period ahead of next week’s policy meeting…

The Case For A Bullish Reversal In The Venture Continues To Build

We have three important charts we’d like to share with our readers this morning concerning the Venture Exchange and why NOW is the time to be encouraged, not discouraged (no matter what the market may do four hours from now or tomorrow)…for investors who are selective, some incredible opportunities exist at the moment – especially if the Venture shoots 10-15% higher from current levels over the next six to eight weeks which is a very real possibility given the current dynamics…support in the low 900’s is solid…the seas are often a little choppy in the first week or two of December, due in part to tax-loss selling, but that’s to the advantage of the buyer…December, January and February are traditionally the Venture’s best months of the year, and this time around should be no exception and could be particularly strong…

Chart #1

The 8-month basing pattern the Venture has experienced since the spring of this year, following a spectacular drop from the 2465 high in March, 2011, has felt akin to slow torture for many investors…the good news is, this basing pattern is providing the foundation upon which the CDNX can finally start to build a sustainable advance as opposed to the sharp, short-lived rallies witnessed in late 2011, early 2012 and the summer of 2012…

John’s first chart is a 5-year monthly that paints the “Big Picture” extremely well…in October, the Venture finally broke above a long-term downtrend line that is now providing important support…deeply oversold RSI conditions earlier this year and during the second quarter of 2012 are like “mirror images” of the overbought conditions that emerged in early 2010 and again in late 2010/early 2011…the ADX indicator shows the long-term bear trend is weakening, while the MACD Histogram is now in the bullish zone (slightly) for the first time since 2011…

As we mentioned a week ago, so many investors (and this includes management personnel in many Venture companies) are trapped in such a fog of negativity at the moment that they can’t see the forest for the trees right now – the Venture is showing every sign of an imminent and significant reversal…it’s impossible at this point to know all the reasons why, but we should find out soon enough…

Venture 5-Year Monthly Chart

“Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy, Be Greedy When Others Are Fearful”

If for whatever reason(s) you’re fearful or discouraged regarding the current market, you really do need to adjust your “herd mentality” thinking because this is when the contrarian usually scores big, like after the Crash of 2008 or during the market highs of late 2010/early 2011…

You can make an incredible amount of money investing in companies on the highly speculative Venture Exchange during any cycle (and you can lose a lot, too), but your odds of success are greatly enhanced when you “load up” in the midst of these oversold periods and exit when conditions get frothy…individual stocks also go through their own cycles, of course, and the same principles apply…you must have a plan to buy and a plan to sell…you must be unemotional and often contrarian in your approach which actually goes against basic human nature – most people act on emotions and prefer to follow, not lead…

The Coming Advance

We emphasize – yet again – that a rising tide will not lift all boats, so expect a “market within a market” – an acceleration of what we’ve seen over the last number of months…a relatively small percentage of Venture plays will do the heavy lifting, at least in the initial stages of a significant advance…that’s the space to pay attention to for the best gains…focus on the companies with healthy balance sheets, competent management, strong and active projects, and the ability to execute both on the ground and in the market…do your due diligence…don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and speak with company management…avoid “lifestyle” companies like the plague…pay close attention to share structure – so many Venture companies have obliterated their share structures over the last year, the latest example being Everton Resources (EVR, TSX-V) which is issuing nearly 60 million shares (36 million flow-through at 5.5 cents) to raise $3 million…investors will see many rollbacks in 2014, and (thankfully) a good number of Venture companies will simply cease to exist (that will actually be good for the market)…

Chart #2

John’s second chart shows something we haven’t seen for quite some time – the Venture is actually out-performing Gold at the moment, and that’s always a bullish sign…it’s the reverse of what occurred in early 2011 when the Venture started to under-perform vs. Gold, an obvious red flag…for the first time this year, the Venture also has a rising 100-day moving average (SMA)…

After a breakout through the 970’s, which seems very possible by month-end, the first Fib. resistance level is 1008 followed by 1053 which is in the immediate vicinity of the declining 300-day SMA…the current resistance in the 970’s can then be expected to provide future support on any pullbacks…

Venture 13-Month Daily Chart

Chart #3

John’s third chart is the latest update of the one we’ve been following consistently recently – the 3-year weekly…what this shows is steady accumulation since July, shortly after the 859 low near the end of June and three months of deeply oversold conditions as measured by the RSI(14)…again, the Venture broke above an important downtrend line in October and has managed to stay above that trendline for the past two months…key RSI(14) resistance on the 3-year weekly is right around 50…what we expect to see is a breakout above that level shortly after the Index is able to overcome resistance in the 970’s…

Venture 3-Year Weekly

Good News For The Venture – U.S. Dollar Index Is In Trouble

Interestingly, the Venture broke above a long-term downtrend soon after the U.S. Dollar Index broke below a long-term uptrend…historically, the Venture performs best when the Dollar Index trend is bearish…right now, the Dollar Index is looking very vulnerable to a potential free-fall below critical support at 79 during the first quarter of next year…RSI(14) is heading south, and so too is the 200-day SMA and dollar bulls can’t ignore this much longer…the Bitcoin craze could have more to it than we realize – faith in traditional currencies is clearly eroding which, one would assume, is a great reason to continue to believe in the importance and power of Gold (the Chinese are certainly thinking that way)…

Dollar Index 2.5-Year Weekly Chart

Frank Holmes On The Greenback

A valuable resource investors should check out each weekend is Frank Holmes’ Investor Alert at www.usfunds.com… Holmes gave his take on the U.S. dollar in his December 6 issue…“One too many of the investors and analysts we speak to on a daily basis is completely oblivious to the recent behavior of the U.S. dollar. The recent macroeconomic data released has helped propel the equity markets higher, based on the notions that (1) the recovery is in full swing and (2) the labor, manufacturing, and economic releases are at multi-year highs. One would expect that the taper talk 2.0 which has followed recent macroeconomic data releases would have the U.S. dollar flying high. But as the chart above shows, the exact opposite has happened. In fact, despite the calls for December tapering piling up on the basis of visible improvements to the labor market, the U.S. dollar has failed to respond. The U.S. dollar trades in the foreign exchange market, which transacts well over $4 trillion on average per day, making it the most liquid market, and clearly one where any type of manipulation is nearly impossible. The interpretation we give to this is that the U.S. dollar weakness signals tapering is unlikely in the short term, and a continuation of the U.S. dollar downtrend is likely. These developments should bode well for gold going into the new year as we expect the historic negative correlation between Gold and the U.S. dollar to gain momentum.”

Drill, Baby, Drill

Companies who are actively drilling properties with strong geological merit are of special interest to us right now – in particular because of the time of the year – and below are chart updates on two additional situations we’ve been tracking recently (on Friday we posted a chart update on Garibaldi Resources – GGI, TSX.V)…John correctly identified the accumulation “sweet spot” for Barisan Gold Corp. (BG, TSX-V) – 15 to 20 cents on a Fibonacci retracement – and the strong support between 15-16 cents within a bullish ascending triangle in Global Cobalt Corp. (GCO, TSX-V) which rocketed to a Fib. target of 24 cents Friday…

Barsian Gold Corp. (BG, TSX-V)

Global Cobalt Corp. (GCO, TSX-V)

The 24-cent Fib. level is resistance in Global Cobalt Corp. (GCO, TSX-V) until a confirmed breakout occurs…in the meantime, volatility is likely to continue within the ascending triangle…

Silver Short-Term Chart

Silver’s 6-month daily chart is interesting with a clear divergence between RSI(14) and price…the recent bearish trend is waning with strong support around current levels…

Silver Long-Term Chart

The long-term bullish case for Silver remains intact despite the 60% drop from the 2011 high…the 13-year monthly chart shows oversold levels that haven’t been seen in a dozen years since 2001…

Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in GGI and BG.

TSX Venture Exchange and Gold

It was a very normal first week of December for the Venture which fell 18 points to close at 917, a 1.9% drop which was in line with the 2% average decline in the Index during December’s first five trading days over the last five years.  Historically, December is actually the Venture’s best month of the year as the chart below shows – so the first week or two of this month, given seasonality patterns, is the time to be thinking about accumulating high quality plays on any weakness.  Especially since what we see developing as the month progresses is a powerful rally that will finally allow the Venture to break past critical resistance in the 970’s and start the New Year on a much more positive note. There is plenty of technical evidence to support that bullish outlook.

If the Venture were to experience an “average” December, we can expect the Index to close the year at 985 (nearly 90% of the time since 1999, the Venture has closed higher in December than November with an average gain of 5.4%).  That would set the tone for a strong start to the New Year.

The Venture’s 1.9% slide last week compared to a 1% loss for the TSX and a 6.8% fall in the struggling TSX Gold Index which is now down a whopping 50% for the year vs. a 25% drop in the Venture. So the Venture, despite all its issues, has actually been a safer environment than the Gold Index featuring producers.

Below is an updated 3-month daily chart from John.  Venture support in the low 900’s remains very strong, and a rising 100-day moving average (SMA) seems likely to hold (John has important Venture charts that we’ll be posting Monday morning that clearly show a turnaround forming).  Expect more choppiness in the coming week, followed by a sentiment change kicking in by the week of the 16th which interestingly corresponds with the next Federal Reserve meeting.

CRB Index Chart Update

The CRB Index is showing signs of staging a year-end rally which lends further support to our bullish forecast for the Venture.  The CRB appears to be a similar position to where it was near the end of June, just prior to a strong advance that it took from a low of 275 to a high of 296 in late August.

The Seeds Have Been Planted (And Continue To Be Planted) For The Next Big Run In Gold Stocks

There’s no better cure for low prices than low prices.  The great benefit of the collapse in Gold prices this year is that it forced producers (at least most of them) to start to become much more lean and mean in terms of their cost structures. Producers, big and small, have started to make hard decisions in terms of costs, projects, and rationalizing their operating structures.  Exploration budgets among both producers and juniors have also been cut sharply.  In addition, government policies across much of the globe are making it more difficult (sometimes impossible) for mining companies to put Gold (or other) deposits into production, thanks to the ignorance of many politicians and the impact of radical and vocal environmentalists.  Ultimately, all these factors are going to create a supply problem – think about it, where are the next major Gold deposits going to come from? On top of that, grades have fallen significantly just over the past decade.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the next huge bull market in Gold stocks is just around the corner due to demand-supply dynamics, much leaner producers who will suddenly become earnings machines, and a junior market that will be healthier simply because a lot of the “lifestyle” companies sucking money out of investors will simply disappear or get taken over by individuals or groups who are actually competent and serious about building shareholder value.   A healthy “cleansing” in the market has been taking place.  As this continues, more and more seeds are being planted for an incredible future move in well-managed Gold producers and explorers that could make the dotcom bubble look like a tea party.  As for the juniors, focus on the small universe of companies that have the ability to execute both on the ground and in the market.  Companies that are strong financially, have superior exploration prospects, competent management and clean share structures.

Gold

Gold traded down to a support band between $1,200 and $1,215 last week but didn’t drop lower than $1,210, recovering marginally to close Friday at $1,231 which was a loss of $20 for the week.  Bullion is basing around these levels which could be a set-up for a potential rally.  Encouragingly, Gold has broken above an RSI(14) downtrend line on this 9-month daily chart and sell pressure is weakening.

Silver lost 39 cents last week to close at $19.54 (John will have updated Silver charts as usual Monday morning).  Copper gained 2 pennies to finish at $3.21.  Crude Oil staged its strongest rally since July, jumping nearly $5 a barrel to close at $97.65.  The U.S. Dollar Index, meanwhile, continues to struggle as it fell more than one-third of a point to close at 80.26.

The “Big Picture” View Of Gold

As Frank Holmes so effectively illustrates at www.usfunds.com, the long-term bull market in Gold has been driven by both the Fear Trade and the Love Trade.  The transfer of wealth from west to east, and the accumulation of wealth particularly in China and India, has had a huge impact on bullion.  Despite this year’s drop, the fundamental long-term case for Gold remains incredibly strong – currency instability and an overall lack of confidence in fiat currencies, governments and world leaders in general, an environment of historically low interest rates, a Fed balance sheet now in excess of $3.5 trillion and expanding at $85 billion a month, money supply growth around the globe, massive government debt from the United States to Europe, central bank buying, flat mine supply, physical demand (especially from China), emerging market growth, geopolitical unrest and conflicts…the list goes on.  However, deflationary concerns around the globe and the prospect of Fed tapering by the end of the year (not likely now) had a lot to do with Gold’s plunge during the spring below the technically and psychologically important $1,500 level, along with the strong performance of equities which drew money away from bullion.  June’s low of $1,179 may have been the bottom for bullion – time will tell.  We do, however, expect new all-time highs as the decade progresses.  There are many reasons to believe that Gold’s long-term bull market is still intact despite this major correction from the 2011 all-time high of just above $1,900 an ounce.

Welcome to our site, or at least the initial version of it!  BMR has been online for more than 4 years and strictly through word-of-mouth we have built a loyal following.  We encourage reader feedback and the exchange of helpful opinions and ideas among investors in our forum. 

We’re continuing with our plans to ultimately construct a very unique investment and money-management resource site that goes considerably beyond what we have now.  We focus a great deal on the Gold, Silver and Copper markets as well as trends in the global economy, in addition of course to the technical health of the TSX Venture Exchange (CDNX).  An important component of this site, as well, will always be original research on high quality junior exploration companies or small producers that offer very real and significant upside potential. We are extremely selective in the companies we feature and put forward to investors – we prefer quality over quantity, and we are being more selective than ever in the current market environment.  We look for companies with the ability to execute both on the ground and in the market, who are determined to build shareholder value, which actually excludes most Venture stocks.  However, investors must understand that the companies we do put forward for our readers’ due diligence are still highly speculative situations and entail considerable risk, volatility and unpredictability.

Our intent is to provide you with information that you can use as part of your own due diligence.  Our stock coverage is for informational and entertainment purposes only and must not be viewed or interpreted as “buy”, “sell” or “hold” recommendations. We are not Registered Securities Advisers. Our opinions can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Adviser operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction. Always perform your own due diligence and please read our disclaimer at the bottom.

We use a combination of fundamental and technical factors in determining the value and potential of a stock.  In terms of fundamentals we look for a company with a superb project supported by strong management.  Management must possess integrity, solid ethics and a determination to succeed and build shareholder value.

At BullMarketRun (BMR) we approach the handling of money from a biblical perspective and this is an important topic we will be sharing with our readers (and listeners) as the site continues to develop. The Bible teaches so much about money and how to handle it and invest it –  there are literally thousands of verses on how we should handle the money and possessions that God entrusts us with.  By examining the life of Jesus and reading the Word of God, we can all become fully equipped to be successful investors and handle money wisely.  We have a God who thinks big – He created the universe – and He wants us to think big  in every area of our lives.  When we handle money from a Biblical perspective (His money that we have been given stewardship of), He will bless you.  This all begins, of course, with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by accepting Him as your Lord and Savior and putting Him at the throne of your life.  It is the most important decision you’ll ever make.

God Bless,

Terry Dyer

Owner/Publisher, www.BullMarketRun.com

Disclaimer:

BullMarketRun.com (BMR) is completely independent from any companies it covers.  BMR accepts no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations for coverage of any company mentioned on this site.  We accept no advertising either.  Our stock coverage is for informational and entertainment purposes only and must not be viewed or interpreted as “buy”, “sell” or “hold” recommendations. No investment opinion or other advice is being rendered on any stock or company. We strongly recommend that you consult with a qualified investment adviser, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction, and do your own due diligence and research before making any investment decisions. The stocks we cover, by definition, are highly speculative and potentially very volatile. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment if they make a purchase or short sale in these speculative stocks.  We are not Registered Securities Advisers. Our opinions can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Adviser operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction. It should be assumed that BMR personnel, writers and their associates may hold or dispose of or trade in positions in any securities mentioned herein at any time.  Owner/Publisher of BullMarketRun.com is Terry Dyer of Langley, British Columbia.

Forward Looking Statements:

All statements in BMR’s reports, other than statements of historical fact, may be forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future performance. Forward-looking statements are often but not always identified by the use of words such as “seek”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “continue”, “estimate”, “expect”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “predict”, “potential”, “targeting”, “intend”, “could”, “might”, “should”, “believe” and similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.

Gold sold off slightly as soon as this morning’s U.S. jobs report came in mildly better than expected at 203,000 (vs. an estimated 180,000), but bullion quickly reversed to the upside…as of 7:15 am Pacific, Gold is up $10 an ounce at $1,235…Silver is up 20 cents at $19.63…Copper had added 3 pennies to $3.22…Crude Oil (WTIC), which has enjoyed its best rally in three-and-a-half months this week, is flat at $97.34 while the U.S. Dollar Index is up slightly but off its highs at 80.35…

Euro Pacific Capital CEO Peter Schiff, a well-known Gold bull, dollar bear and an investor probably best known for correctly predicting several years ago that a housing market crash would overwhelm the financial system, remains concerned about the outlook for the U.S. economy…“I think investors are really underestimating the severity of the problems that underlie the structure of the U.S. economy and the degree at which the Fed is masking and actually exacerbating those problems with QE,” Schiff told CNBC in an interview earlier this week…Schiff actually doesn’t expect a Fed taper at all in 2014 as Vice Chair Janet Yellen steps in to succeed Chairman Ben Bernanke at the end of January…but the Fed’s unprecedented stimulus program will all but destroy the value of the dollar, he contends…he recommends that investors buy Gold and get exposure to foreign markets in the New Year…

Gold and commodities in general are clearly out of favor with hedge funds (and others) at the moment, and that’s being interpreted as a bullish sign by some contrarians…of 912 hedge funds, money managers and proprietary and corporate trading desks surveyed by Barclays, only 6% said commodities will generate the best returns in the next three months, while a majority picked equities…Citigroup estimates a record $36 billion has flowed out of passive commodities strategies so far this year, compared with net inflows of $27.5 billion in 2012…this year, 15 of the 24 commodities in the S&P GSCI commodity index have fallen, compared with five last year…

CRB Index Chart

So let’s took a look at a 1-year weekly Reuters/Jeffries CRB Index chart from John…interestingly, it has been edging higher over the past month and is actually looking quite bullish entering the final weeks of 2013 – threatening to push above a downtrend line in place since September…RSI(14) is showing up momentum after bottoming in late October/early November…a bullish Slow Stochastics crossover has also occurred…this correlates well with the positive signals we’ve been seeing from the Venture, supporting the case for a Venture breakout through the 970’s by month-end…the CRB Index is up three-quarters of a point at 278.35 as of 7:15 am Pacific…

U.S. Dollar Index In Trouble?

Schiff’s comments regarding the greenback can’t be taken lightly…John has shown how the U.S. Dollar Index broke below an important long-term uptrend in September with severe resistance between 81 and the 200-day moving average (SMA) at 82…that resistance has held firm so far…the Index continues to look vulnerable as 2013 draws to a close…the 200-day has flattened out and is now threatening to reverse to the downside…if the Dollar were to break critical support at 79, such an event would be good news for both Gold and the Venture Exchange – though a lot of dollar bulls would be caught with their pants down…below is a 2.5-year weekly U.S. Dollar Index chart…the trend continues to be bearish…

U.S. Unemployment Rate Falls To Five-Year Low

The U.S. November jobs report showed steady employment growth as 2013 draws to a close…payrolls rose by 203,000 last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 7%, the lowest level in five years as more people joined the workforce and fewer people lost their jobs…employment growth was best in the sectors of transportation and warehousing (31,000 new jobs), health care (28,000) and manufacturing (27,000)…will this be enough to convince the Fed to start scaling back its bond buying program beginning later this month?…not likely, in our view…a few more upbeat reports like this one and October’s may do the trick, so the earliest we expect to see any “tapering” is March or April…

Today’s Markets

Asian markets were mixed overnight…Japan’s Nikkei average jumped 122 points to finish the week at 15300…China’s Shanghai Composite, meanwhile, fell 10 points to 2237…

European shares are up significantly in late trading…

In North America, the Dow has surged 131 points higher through the first 45 minutes of trading and should snap a five-session losing skid today…U.S. consumer sentiment surged in December as Americans’ outlook on the economy and job prospects improved, a survey just released showed…the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s preliminary reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment jumped to 82.5 for December, up from a final reading of 75.1 in November…this was the highest reading for the index since July, and topped analyst forecasts for a reading of 76…

The TSX is up 84 points while the Venture has gained 3 points to 918 as of 7:15 am Pacific…

LX Ventures (LXV, TSX-V) Updated Chart

As regular readers know, we’ve been tracking volatile social media darling LX Ventures (LXV, TSX-V) recently from a technical perspective as John’s Fib. analysis has proven to be a very useful trading guide…below is an updated 2.5-year weekly chart…expect more bouncing around and consolidation as the RSI(14) continues to unwind…there is strong support in the upper 40’s, as demonstrated earlier this week, while the rising 20-day (SMA), currently at 61 cents, provides additional support…LXV is up a penny at 66 cents through the first 45 minutes of trading…

Garibaldi Resources Corp. (GGI, TSX-V) Updated Chart

There’s nothing like drilling that can provide a spark to ignite a junior exploration stock, and Garibaldi Resources (GGI, TSX-V) has been showing encouraging signs this week with increasing volume and a sudden intra-day reversal yesterday that allowed it to close at a daily high of 9.5 cents…Garibaldi has several potential catalysts going for it entering 2014, not the least of which is current drilling in Mexico, of course, plus a healthy financial position that has allowed it to prevent any significant stock dilution since 2009…the Grizzly story should also heat up during the upcoming first quarter, and there’s no question now that the Sheslay Valley area has overtaken North ROK as the #1 exploration play in that part of northwestern British Columbia…

Technically, GGI is supported and powered by rising long-term moving averages including the 200-day SMA at 9 cents…what’s fascinating about this 3-year weekly chart from John is how GGI broke out of a long-term downtrend in early July, and the bullish “flag” that has formed since then…in recent days, buy pressure has increased and RSI(14) has formed a bullish “W”…technically, what appears to be in the works is a potential major breakout from the flag formation…exact timing of course is uncertain, but the coming days and the final few weeks of the year should prove very interesting with GGI (and the Venture as a whole)…

Barisan Gold Corp. (BG, TSX-V)

Barisan Gold Corp. (BG, TSX-V) has been very volatile since announcing an impressive drill hole result from its Upper Tengkereng prospect in Indonesia November 5…904 metres grading 0.41 g.t Au and 0.25% Cu, including 262 metres of 0.81 g/t Au and 0.49% Cu, deserves some serious attention – even if it’s in Indonesia…drilling continues as the company attempts to intersect the potassic core where even higher grades could exist…more results are expected early in the New Year, so speculation will keep this play active…strong technical support exists in the low 20’s…this one is not for the timid or the faint of heart, but certainly has the potential to produce some stellar returns if additional results are even better…as always, perform your own due diligence…the pullback from the recent high of 44.5 cents should be viewed in the context of a normal, healthy pullback…as of 7:15 am Pacific, BG is up 3 pennies at 27 cents…will be an interesting story to keep an eye on…

Mason Graphite (LLG, TSX-V)

Speaking of volatility, check that word in the dictionary and you’ll see the Mason Graphite stock symbol (LLG, TSX-V)…the company yesterday reported a big increase in NI-43-101 mineral resources at its Lac Gueret graphite project in northeastern Quebec…refer to the company’s news for the numbers but they’re strong, and the mineral envelope remains open in all directions…LLG gapped up to 52 cents at the open yesterday but closed just above the low of the day at 46.5 cents…the question now is whether it can start gaining traction above 50 cents which is the still-declining 200-day SMA…that’s its immediate challenge…a positive recent development is that LLG broke above a downsloping channel…

Note: John and Jon both hold share positions in GGI.  John also holds a share position in BG.

Gold has traded between $1,218 and $1,242 so far today…as of 7:30 am Pacific, bullion is down $24 an ounce at $1,219 ahead of tomorrow’s U.S. non-farm payrolls report and consumer sentiment – numbers the market will be studying closely for clues as to when the Federal Reserve may decide to begin to wind down its bond-buying program…Silver is off 39 cents at $19.33…Copper is down 2 pennies at $3.19…Crude Oil is 52 cents higher at $97.72 while the U.S. Dollar Index has fallen one-fifth of a point to 80.42…

Strong Chinese and U.S. demand should help drive commodity prices higher in 2014, ETF Securities stated in its outlook yesterday, listing Copper, Lead, Platinum and Palladium among its top picks…the firm suggested recent negative sentiment toward Gold is “overdone” and anticipates that the combination of physical demand spurred by low prices, falling output and less recycling will help limit any further downside…

Commodities underperformed developed-market equities for the third consecutive year in 2013, following 10 years of outperformance, ETF Securities noted…slowing Chinese economic growth, jitters that the U.S. Federal Reserve could cut back on quantitative easing, plus rising supply expectations have been the main factors weighing on the sector, the company stated…

However, ETF Securities sees an improved tone for commodities in 2014, calling for a “turnaround year for this laggard asset class”…

Gold’s intra-day reversal yesterday was encouraging, regardless of this morning’s weakness…obviously tomorrow will be a critical day for Gold to see how it handles the jobs report and finishes the week…John’s 6-month daily chart shows the recent bearish trend that sent Gold down by 10% since the end of October is weakening…a convincing push through the $1,250 area is required in order to give Gold fresh upside momentum…

U.S. Q3 Economic Revisions

The U.S. economy grew faster than initially estimated in the third quarter as businesses aggressively accumulated stock, but underlying domestic demand remained sluggish…gross domestic product grew at a 3.6% annual rate instead of the 2.8% pace reported earlier, the Commerce Department said this morning…economists polled by Reuters had expected output would be revised up to only a 3% rate…growth could fall sharply in the fourth quarter, however, if companies stockpile goods at a slower rate as expected…

The third quarter pace is the fastest since the first quarter of 2012 and marked an acceleration from the April-June period’s 2.5% rate…businesses accumulated $116.5 billion worth of inventories, the largest increase since the first quarter of 1998…that compared to prior estimates of only $86 billion…

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, was revised down to a 1.4% rate, the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2009…spending had previously been estimated to have increased at a 1.5% pace…

Fed’s Beige Book Says U.S. Expanding At “Modest To Moderate” Pace

The U.S. economy expanded at a “modest to moderate” pace in recent months, the Federal Reserve said yesterday in a report that showed mixed economic conditions across the nation just prior to a key policy decision by the central bank…the beige book, which assesses the economic environment in the Fed’s 12 districts, cited strength in the U.S. manufacturing sector and consumer spending…seven districts reported steady growth rates and four districts indicated a less robust expansion than the others…one region simply said economic activity continued to expand…the snapshot, based on information gathered from early October through November 22, comes two weeks before the Fed’s Dec. 17-18 policy meeting…the Fed will decide at that meeting whether to start pulling back its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program, which is aimed at lowering borrowing costs to spur stronger spending, hiring and growth…

Meanwhile, a separate survey released yesterday by the Business Roundtable, a group of top corporate executives, found U.S. CEO’s the most bullish they’ve been about the economy in almost two years…the survey’s economic outlook index for the fourth quarter rose to its highest point since early 2012…executives said clearer signals from Washington could help the economy accelerate…“We have an economy that is on the cusp of growing at more than the 2-to-3% we’ve seen,” said Boeing Co. CEO Jim McNerney, who is chairman of the group. “Washington sorting themselves out would give businesses a more predictable environment to invest the cash on their balance sheets and hire people.”

That’s the key – political dysfunction and poor fiscal policy at federal levels are hampering the ability of the U.S. to accelerate growth and allow the economy to reach its full potential, which in turn has been forcing the Fed to keep its pedal to the metal…at a time when job growth needs to gain even more traction, President Obama continues to insist that Congress should hike the minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour to as much as $9 an hour – a whopping 24% increase that would guarantee that businesses would reduce their payrolls and/or hike prices…but this of course is also the same President who brought forth the Unaffordable Health Care Act as part of his social engineering agenda, creating another burden for business and actually increasing health care costs for many Americans…

Today’s Markets

Asia

Asian markets were lower overnight, though China’s Shanghai Composite fell just 5 points to 2247…Japan’s Nikkei Average slipped 230 points or 1.5% to close at 15177…

Europe

European shares were down slightly today…the ECB left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.25% after surprising markets with a rate cut last month…ECB President Mario Draghi gave no sign of imminent monetary policy easing…the ECB expects inflation at 1.4% in 2013, 1.1% in 2014 and 1.3% in 2015, still well below the bank’s target of 2%…the forecast for 2013 was a 0.1 percentage point cut from the bank’s September forecast, while for 2014 it was revised downwards by 0.2 percentage points…

North America

The Dow is down 37 points through the first hour of trading…the TSX has lost 72 points while the Venture is flat at 920 – holding up well despite Gold’s weakness and softness in the broader markets…strong support persists in the low 900’s…the Venture’s weekly close tomorrow should provide some important fresh technical clues…

Canadian Dollar Chart Update

The daily chart shows the Canadian dollar quite oversold and due for a rebound at the very least, which is good news for the Venture as the two generally have a high correlation…John’s 5-year monthly chart shows the dollar is now at long-term support going back to the beginning of 2010…rallies in the Venture have consistently occurred around the time the loonie has touched long-term support, which bolsters the case for a year-end push by the Venture after it first navigates some more choppy seas which are common during the first half of December…

Global Cobalt Corp. (GCO, TSX-V)

Global Cobalt (GCO, TSX-V) is another candidate, in our view, for a strong finish to the year…it’s off a penny at 17.5 cents through the first hour of trading today, but that’s after a 3-cent jump yesterday…drilling continues at GCO’s Karakul Cobalt Project in Russia…technically, the stock has been consolidating within an ascending triangle, as shown in John’s 3-month chart, while unwinding overbought conditions that emerged in October…

Madalena Ventures (MVN, TSX-V) Update

Madalena Ventures (MVN, TSX-V) has closed its bought-deal financing, including full exercise of the over-allotment option, for total gross proceeds of $9.2 million…MVN has excellent prospects for 2014 and, as we’ve stated repeatedly, is very worthy of our readers’ due diligence…more on MVN Monday…as of 7:30 am Pacific, MVN is up a penny at 51 cents…

Contact Exploration Inc. (CEX, TSX-V)

Another oil and gas junior that we’ve been tracking in recent months with increasing interest is Contact Exploration (CEX, TSX-V) which continues to accelerate its Kakwa Montney play in Alberta..CEX continues to look poised for a breakout by Q1 based not just on fundamental factors – continued increases in production as East Kakwa pushes westward – but given the underlying bullishness of the long-term chart…as always, perform your own due diligence…below is a 2.5-year weekly CEX chart from John…since late 2012, CEX has been trading in a horizontal channel between 18 cents and 28 cents...CEX closed yesterday at 27 cents (no trading so far this morning)…

Note: John, Terry and Jon do not hold share positions in GCO, MVN or CEX.