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Check back later this morning for today’s Morning Market Musings.

1. Gold has traded between $1,240 and $1,248 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is up $3 an ounce at $1,245 while Silver has added 9 cents to $18.18…despite a nearly 1% drop in Gold prices yesterday, the yellow metal is on track for its best quarterly performance – a gain of almost 8% – in a year…Tom Kendall, head of precious metals strategy for ICBC Standard Bank, sees a good possibility of a breakout for Gold during Q2.  “The greater risk during the 2nd quarter of this year is that unresolved arguments over deficit spending, the debt ceiling and entitlement programs result in Congress making no progress on its legislative agenda, and that consequently the administration fails to get any meaningful tax reform or infrastructure spending bills written, let alone passed.  That would almost certainly lead to the implied probability of another 25-basis-point rate hike in June falling quickly from current levels around 45%. And that in turn would likely give Gold the impetus to break up through $1,300 again.”

2. Oil prices are off slightly this morning after a 3-day rally that has propelled WTI back to the $50 level…this will nonetheless be Crude’s worst-performing quarter since 2015 as investors fret that growing U.S. supplies are undermining OPEC-led cuts…one of the world’s leading Oil traders, however, made a very bullish “non-consensus” call last night – we’ll have more on that in today’s Morning Musings…

3. U.S. consumer spending barely rose in February amid delays in the payment of income tax refunds, but the biggest annual increase in inflation in nearly 5 years supports expectations among many traders of more interest rate hikes this year…the Commerce Department said this morning that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, edged up just 0.1% in February – below expectations and the smallest gain since August…meanwhile, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index gained 0.1% last month after jumping 0.4% in January…that lifted the year-on-year rate of increase in the PCE price index to 2.1%, the biggest year-on-year gain since April 2012…

4. The Canadian economy expanded by 0.6% in January from December, more than expected, on widespread growth in goods-and service-producing industries, Statistics Canada data showed this morning…the strong start to the year signals that Q1 annualized growth could exceed the 2.5% that the Bank of Canada forecast in January…growth in mining, quarrying, and Oil and Gas extraction increased by a healthy 1.9% in January…

5. The Dow is off 44 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…in Toronto, the TSX has shed 16 points, while the Venture has edged up 2 points to 810…technically, the Venture has been showing increasing strength since mid-month but it’s still working up the energy to push through a key near-term resistance band between 817 and 824…

6. Tinka Resources (TK, TSX-V) was halted 15 minutes prior to the open this morning, pending news…more drill results from the Ayawilca Zinc Project?…Cobalt prices have hit another multi-year high, $24.95 (U.S.) and could surge again on a breakout above $25…Castle Silver Resources (CSR, TSX-V) has the most technical momentum of any stock in the northern Ontario Cobalt Camp at the moment and we’ll be reviewing CSR and a couple of others in today’s Morning Musings…

7. It has been a great week for Cannabix Technologies (BLO, CSE) with the stock up 25% following news of positive preliminary results from ongoing live testing of the Cannabix Marijuana Breathalyzer…technically, BLO’s 50-day SMA (currently 75 cents) is now reversing again to the upside – a very reliable indicator since late 2014 of pending bullish moves in the stock…BLO is up 2 pennies at 77 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…

The 3 most popular recent BMR articles…

BMR Morning Market Musings:  Gold Is Showing That It May Soon Take Many Traders By Surprise

Update:  Who’s Who In The Northern Ontario Cobalt Camp

“Optionality” – A Strategy That Works:  Get Gold Exposure For Only $8 Per Ounce