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Gold has traded between $1,192 and $1,214 so far today…as of 8:40 am Pacific, bullion is up $7 an ounce at $1,196 following yesterday’s Fed news…Silver is up 21 cents at $15.96…Copper is down a nickel at $2.86…Crude Oil has been volatile today, now trading lower at $55.58 a barrel, while the U.S. Dollar Index has gained another one-fifth of a point to 89.23…

The Fed was somewhat more dovish than many analysts had predicted yesterday, though the general consensus continues to be that the central bank will raise interest rates at some point next year (more likely during the second half of 2015, if at all)…much can change between now and the middle of next year, however…significantly, the Fed kept the phrase “considerable time” in its statement yesterday for when it might raise interest rates…

Chair Janet Yellen suggested in her news conference afterward that the Fed will probably raise rates in 2015 but won’t be in a hurry to do so…the strength of U.S. economic data and the level of inflation, not a calendar deadline, will dictate when the central bank ultimately raises rates…at a time of global economic turmoil and collapsing Oil prices, Yellen stressed that the central bank was making no policy changes at the moment…

In its updated economic outlook, the Fed lowered its inflation forecast for next year to between 1% and 1.6%…because inflation remains so low, Yellen said she would be comfortable waiting until the unemployment rate fell from its current 5.8% to historically low levels in order to help put upward pressure on prices…

Long-time Gold bull and dollar bear Peter Schiff told Kitco that the U.S. economy is not as strong as people perceive it to be. “I think (Gold) is set up perfectly and I think it’s still on that launch pad,” he commented.  Schiff added that too many people believe in what he called a “phony recovery” and warns that a rude awakening is coming when the Fed, instead of raising rates, launches a QE4 to keep the economy from slipping back into a recession…

Russian Bear Growls

President Vladimir Putin sought to reassure Russians today that the country’s economic troubles will pass in no more than 2 years, saying at his annual news conference that the government and central bank are responding appropriately, though a bit belatedly…asked about tensions with the West, Putin struck a harsh tone, accusing the West of seeking to subdue and disarm Russia…acknowledging that Western sanctions over the country’s role in Ukraine were biting, he said the current economic troubles “are payment for our independence, our sovereignty.”  He compared Russia to a bear which could “sit quietly and eat honey”. 

A dramatic film-style trailer for the speech on Russian TV, featuring images of soldiers in Ukraine, Olympic victories and warnings to the U.S., suggested that Putin is maintaining a nationalistic tone that is as defiant as ever to the West…he still commands mass appeal among Russian voters (80% support according to this week’s latest polls), largely in part because he essentially controls the media and therefore the “message”…

The only way Putin will be thrown off his saddle is if Economic Armageddon strikes Russia, and that’s certainly possible in 2015 – especially if Oil prices were to tank into the $30’s…

Shun Canada, Oppose Keystone XL, Cozy Up To Cuba…Does This Make Sense?

While President Obama continues to curry favor with dictators, as demonstrated by his announcement regarding Cuba yesterday, one wonders when he may decide to “normalize” relations with the leaders of Canada, Israel, Great Britain and Australia – just a few of America’s greatest friends, the leaders of which revealingly all have a frosty relationship with the President…it’s also very telling about the judgement of this President when he shows more interest in the relationship between Cuba and the U.S. than the critical one between the U.S. and its largest trading partner, Canada (except of course when it comes to the issue of Keystone XL, which the President opposes with outright lies and half truths)…as much as he tries, fortunately Obama can’t control the media like Putin can – hence Obama’s approval ratings are deservedly near record lows, and he will face a very defiant Congress in 2015…

Congress will also no doubt remind the President that the United States has just lost the first cyber war, a very serious development…officials now believe the disturbing Sony hack was ordered directly by North Korea’s leadership…experts say North Korea has spent its scare resources on building up a unit called “Bureau 121” to carry out cyber attacks…

Today’s Equity Markets

Asia

China’s red-hot Shanghai Composite took a breather overnight, finishing 3 points lower at 3058 following the release of falling new home prices for November which pointed to a persistent property downturn despite efforts by authorities to energize the market…

Japan’s Nikkei average surged 390 points or 2.3%, climbing back above the 17000 level…

Europe

European markets were sharply higher today on a Fed-inspired rally…

North America

The Dow has powered 219 points higher as of 8:40 am Pacific…the U.S. services sector expanded in December at its slowest rate since February as growth in employment and new business slowed, an industry report showed today…financial data firm Markit said its “flash” services Purchasing Managers Index hit 53.6 in December, down from November’s final reading of 56.2 and well below economists’ expectations for a rise to 56.9 according to a Reuters poll…the growth rate has slowed steadily since peaking this year at 61 in June, but is still above the 50 level that signals expansion in economic activity…

After gains of 153 points and 352 points Tuesday and Wednesday, the TSX is up another 55 points but off its highs of the day as of 8:40 am Pacific while the Venture has added 7 points to 666 as the December rally begins to kick in following Tuesday’s intra-day low of 637…

Venture 4-Month Daily Chart

Confirmation should come today regarding yesterday’s Venture reversal that featured a “Morning Doji Star” candle pattern…sell pressure is in rapid decline, the -DI indicator has peaked, and RSI(14) is showing strong up momentum…

CDNX 15-Year Monthly Chart

RSI(14) on this long-term monthly chart hit its most oversold level this month since the 2008 Crash, creating fertile ground for a rally going into year-end…the large gap between the downtrend line from the 2011 high and current levels may narrow considerably during the Venture’s December/January “effect”…

Balmoral Resources Ltd. (BAR, TSX) Update

More drill results this morning from Balmoral Resources‘ (BAR, TSX) Grassett Project in Quebec…drilling has now extended the Horizon 3 Ni-Cu-PGE Zone to a depth of 400 m, and confirmed 400 metres of strike extent along Horizon 3 with the zone remaining open to depth and along strike…results were highlighted by hole GR-14-62 which returned 57.11 metres grading 1.03% Ni, 0.13% Cu, 0.20 g/t Pt and 0.55 g/t Pd, including 16.87 m grading 1.42% Ni, 0.21% Cu, 0.29 g/t Pt and 0.90 g/t Pd…this interval also includes a very high grade massive sulphide intercept which yielded 9.88% Ni, 2.33% Cu, 2.45 g/t Pt and 6.13 g/t Pd over 0.41…drilling of the Horizon 3 Discovery is anticipated to resume in January 2015…

BAR will need better results than this to get the stock moving in the right direction, especially considering there are now 110 million shares outstanding…declining 50 and 100-day moving averages (SMA’s) are providing stiff resistance around $1.15 and the high $1.30’s…the company has approved a $4.5 million exploration budget for the first 6 months of 2015 with the majority of that budget focused on expansion of the Horizon 3 discovery and testing of additional targets along the 16-20 kilometre long Grasset Trend…

BAR is off 7 cents at 97 cents as of 8:30 am Pacific…support around 90 cents…

Red Pine Exploration Inc. (RPX, TSX-V) Update

Red Pine Exploration (RPX, TSX-V) is beginning to gain some traction with its newly-acquired Wawa Gold Project in northern Ontario…the company is targeting high-grade quartz veins on the property which already includes an inferred resource…

Technically, RPX has just recently broken above a downtrend line in place throughout 2014, and RSI(14) is climbing steadily higher as it also did late last year…for speculative short-term traders, this is worth your due diligence…

RPX is unchanged at 2 cents on strong volume as of 8:40 am Pacific…

XMET Inc. (XME, TSX-V) Update

XMET Inc. (XME, TSX-V) has found strong technical support at 3 cents, and the company will soon be commencing a drill program at its Blackflake West Graphite Project adjacent to Zenyatta’s (ZEN, TSX-V) deposit…though Zenyatta took a hair cut yesterday, XMET may be able to generate enough excitement to push higher over the near-term within the horizontal trading channel between 3 and 6 cents…

Integra Gold Corp. (ICG, TSX-V) Update

There are several situations in Quebec that we’re monitoring closely at the moment, including one of our old favorites, Gold Bullion Development Corp. (GBB, TSX-V), which is looking more interesting now than it has for quite some time for both fundamental and technical reasons…

Also along the Cadillac Trend is Integra Gold Corp. (ICG, TSX-V) which has made significant progress this year with its high-grade Lamaque Gold Project in Val-d’Or…

Technically, ICG has managed to hold important support in the 15-17 range…this is worth keeping an eye on for 2015, especially in the event we see higher Gold prices…as always, perform your own due diligence…

Note:  Jon holds a share position in GBB.