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Trading Blog          Tuesday,  March 31,  2015

3/31/2015

 
SILVER TRADE ALERT and BROAD STOCK MARKET UPDATE (3:15 pm EST)

As we enter the first week of April, gold prices are falling into a strong support level at $1180.  Even if gold is not turning bullish, short-term cycle structures and other technical signals are now suggesting gold should move higher and exceed last week's high of $1219 before turning down again. Silver is also at a support level at $16.50 and appears poised to turn up now.  For this reason I am going to enter a long position in silver today.  (We are already long in gold.)  There is a possibility of these prices moving lower into the end of the week or into early next week, but even if they do they would still be buy spots (unless gold drops below $1140 and silver below $15.30). Since we entered our gold long position early in the day (before the price surge) on March 18, we can maintain our stop loss for gold at $1140 (close to our buy spot). For silver, however, I am going to set a stop loss for this trade around $16.00 (not $15.30), which is about 3% away from the current buy price and will minimize our loss if prices turn south.  We have an odd situation right now with directional momentum in the precious metals charts.  Silver charts are nearly 100% bullish while gold charts are 100% bearish.  In general, gold and silver move in tandem (with occasional short-term divergences), so one of them should soon line up with the other, but which one will it be?  It is too early to tell, but if these metals rise sharply into the middle or end of next week, I will be looking to sell my long positions and will consider going short.  Entering a long position in silver today and still holding my long position in gold.

The first week of April starts tomorrow, and the direction of the broad stock market is still not clear.  The next seven trading days will tell us if we are going to get a top to sell short or a market washout towards a bottom that could break below 17,000 in the DOW.  If markets continue to rise this week, we will watch for a case of bearish intermarket divergence where one or two (but not all three) of the three major stock indices (DOW, S&P 500 and NASDAQ) make a new yearly high. This would be a strong signal to sell short (or get out, if you are long).  Still on the sidelines.




Trading Blog        Thursday,  March 26,  2015

3/26/2015

 
BROAD STOCK MARKET TRADE ALERT and MARKETS UPDATE  (2:00 pm EST)

Well, that turned out to be a short trade!  Our long position entered in the broad stock market yesterday afternoon was stopped out early this morning when the DOW breached our stop loss at 17,600 (a low of 17,579 around 10:15 am). Our entry point was close to the stop so this was actually not unexpected. The DOW is snapping back this afternoon and is at the time of this writing sitting above 17,700. While it appears that we have been "whipsawed" out of this trade (we may have been), the fact that the DOW broke below the low of March 11 is not a good sign, and I think it is a little risky to be long at the moment. I would therefore advise any traders who went long yesterday and were not stopped out to sell any long positions now (for a 1% or less loss).  The S&P 500 has not yet broken below its March 11 low, but if it does it will support the idea of a new downtrend in this market.  Out of the broad stock market for now.

On a more positive note, our long position in gold is doing very well as precious metal prices continue to rise.  Both gold and silver are approaching some resistance now so we may see a small pullback which might give us a good opportunity to go long in silver. If gold and silver continue to rise into the first week of April, I may reverse my position in these metals (go short) as a more serious correction may start from new highs at that time. We need to keep in mind that it is still not clear whether or not the longer-term trend in precious metals has turned bullish, and we don't want to get too attached to our long positions until that has been established.  Holding my long position in gold but out of silver for now.

Crude oil prices surged to a new weekly high above $52 today.  In Monday's blog on crude I wrote: "If prices start to exceed $50, however, I may have to reconsider the labeling of the current crude cycle.  It is possible that last week's low could be the start of the new cycle (instead of the Jan.29 low at $45). If this is the case, the market could start to turn bullish."  This is happening so the possibility of the new cycle starting from March 18 is now strong.  This is significant because a start on March 18 would mean that prices have not yet gone below the start of the cycle (at $44) and therefore the trend is not necessarily pointed down. I am staying on the sidelines of crude until the cycle structure is a little less ambiguous.  




Trading Blog        Wednesday,  March 25,  2015

3/25/2015

 
BROAD STOCK MARKET TRADE ALERT  (2:30 pm EST)

The broad stock market is falling today and the DOW seems to be finding support around the 17,800 level. In Monday's blog I wrote: "If the market does move down this week, it may be a small corrective dip (say, to the 17,800 - 18,000 area) from which the rally could resume into early April."  We may be getting this now with the possibility of a strong rally over the next few weeks. The reason we now have a good entry point to buy is because there is a very important support level for the DOW at the March 11 low of 17,627, which is only about 200 points below the current price. By placing a tight stop loss at that level, our maximum loss should the market continue down would only be about 1%.  This is a good risk/reward ratio especially as other technical indicators are suggesting markets will rise higher into April (the intermarket bearish divergence signal that I mentioned in Monday's blog may not be that significant as it only appeared in the combined composite NASDAQ chart, not in the contract charts). If taking this trade, I would advise setting an automatic stop loss around 17,600 as if the DOW decides to turn bearish, the index could fall sharply.  A clear break below 17,600 would likely indicate that the current cycle is turning bearish, and the markets would likely be pointed down for at least six more weeks.  Opening a long position in the broad stock market today.





Trading Blog          Monday,  March 23,  2015

3/23/2015

 
MARKETS  UPDATE  (4:45 pm EST)

On Friday the NASDAQ made a new yearly high and, so far, the DOW and S&P 500 have not (they are close).  

A case of bearish intermarket divergence may be setting up here if the DOW and/or S&P 500 do not make new highs. It is a little early for a reversal in the broad stock market, and we want to wait at least until the end of this week before considering any short position.  If all three indices make new highs, I will reconsider my shorting strategy (but not necessarily abandon it).  Directional momentum in the NASDAQ has now turned 100% bullish, but the DOW and S&P 500 remain mixed bearish and bullish so this market is still giving us mixed signals.  The first and second week of April is the timing window we want to focus on for a significant turning point.  If the market does move down this week, it may be a small corrective dip (say, to the 17,800 - 18,000 area) from which the rally could resume into early April.  We will watch for this or for new highs in the DOW and S&P 500 to help direct our trading strategy.  The dovish tone of the Federal Reserve's statement and Janet Yellen's press conference last week has triggered a burst of enthusiastic buying on Wall Street.  Some financial analysts are now wondering if the Fed will continue to delay a significant hike in interest rates indefinitely.  If this is their plan, we could see equity markets go significantly higher this year. But even if this happens, these markets are due (overdue) for a significant correction, and we should guard against becoming too complacent with any long positions.  Still on the sidelines.

Gold and silver have been looking very good since we bought gold early in the day on March 18.  Both metals are rallying sharply, and it looks like they are both starting new medium-term cycles.  Several short-term signals are now suggesting that the precious metals market could be turning bullish.  But we are not out of the woods yet. There is some resistance for gold in the $1200 - $1250 range, and for the gold cycle to become truly bullish prices need to exceed the $1306 top from Jan. 22.  (Silver needs to clear its Jan. 22 high of $18.48 to be bullish).  Exceeding these highs is possible, but we want want to keep in mind the reversal zone coming up in early April. Prices could take a correction first. And if that correction gets serious, the precious metals may not turn bullish and instead plunge to new lows.  For now, we will watch resistance areas for gold around $1200 and for silver around $17.50.  If prices stall at those levels as we move into early April, a correction may follow.  Holding my long position in gold and still on the sidelines of silver.

It looks like the U.S. Dollar Index is finally taking a long overdue correction (this is what kick-started the rally in gold).  Of course, the dollar had been ridiculously overbought and was also pushing against a nice round number of "psychological" resistance at the 100 level, but it seems like it was the Fed and Janet Yellen's surprisingly dovish statements from last week's FOMC meeting that was the straw that finally broke the camel's (green) back.  After hearing Ms.Yellen's double-talk rhetoric concerning the Fed's attitude about raising interest rates ( "just because we removed the word 'patient' doesn't mean we're going to be impatient ") global investors probably started to feel that the Fed, despite their efforts to appear fiscally responsible, may not be in such a hurry to hike rates after all. Delaying a rate hike is bearish for the dollar so unloading greenbacks at the 100 mark following last week's Fed meeting probably seemed like a good idea. The dollar is now below 97, and the U.S. Dollar Index chart shows it will likely move lower, at least short-term. Further declines in the dollar will support the gold and silver rally. 

Crude oil prices are rising slowly from last week's low near $44. I am still looking to sell short in the $48 - $49 area, maybe later this week.  If prices start to exceed $50, however, I may have to reconsider the labeling of the current crude cycle.  It is possible that last week's low could be the start of the new cycle (instead of the Jan.29 low at $45). If this is the case, the market could start to turn bullish. Directional momentum, however, remains 100% bearish at the moment.  Out of this market for now.





Trading Blog      Thursday (evening),  March 19,  2015

3/19/2015

 
MARKETS  UPDATE  (10:30 pm EST)

As expected, the Federal Reserve dropped the term "patient" to describe their attitude about when to raise benchmark interest rates in their statement released after the FOMC meeting ended yesterday.  So does this mean we will see a rate hike in June?  Maybe. But in a press conference after the meeting Janet Yellen said that, "just because we removed the word 'patient' doesn't mean we're going to be impatient."  
The Federal Reserve and its chairwoman Janet Yellen are keenly aware of the effect their statements have on financial markets. They choose their words carefully to avoid triggering any panic selling in the markets.  It is not surprising, then, that 
Ms. Yellen (with a reputation for being dovish) would try and soften the removal of "patient" from the Fed's rhetoric so as not to appear too hawkish.  Fed officials also gave a dovish signal by sharply reducing the expected path of the interest hike over the next two years (the so called "dot plot" data).  These dovish gestures are causing some analysts to speculate the that the Fed's first rate hike will be in September (or even later).

The broad stock market reacted to the Fed in typical jittery fashion.  It was falling before the meeting, but investors were apparently happy with the Fed's lowered expectation for the interest rate path, and the DOW started rising steeply after 2:00 pm and closed the day with a 227 point gain. Much of that gain, however, was lost today as the DOW closed 117 points down.  So it looks like this market is still indecisive as to what direction it wants to take. We are now moving out of our recent timing window for important reversals. (We may have gotten two: one on March 2 and another on March 11. The next several weeks should tell us which one was more important.)  Our focus now should be on the first week of April, which is also a timing window for a significant market turnaround.  With money now flowing into retirement accounts due to the end of the tax year (April 15th), it seems like equity markets could rally into early April, so our main strategy now will be to look to sell short then.  Ideally we will see a case of intermarket bearish divergence where one or two (but not all three) of the three major market indices (DOW, S&P 500 and NASDAQ) make a new yearly high. That could be a very strong bearish signal to sell.  Still on the sidelines.

My suggestion to buy gold yesterday an hour or so before the release of the Fed's statement turned out to be good timing. Gold rallied strongly late in the afternoon as the U.S. Dollar Index dropped (as I had predicted in Tuesday's blog). Gold now looks set to rise into early April, and the strength of this rally could start to tell us if the precious metals market is going to turn bullish. To reverse the currently bearish trend, gold prices will have to break above the $1306 high of late January over the next several months. That may not happen. At the moment it seems more likely that gold (and silver) will maintain a bearish trend into early summer. This means we will probably be looking to sell our long position on any rally into early April and possibly even looking to sell short then. Despite this longer term bearish outlook, if Tuesday's low in gold was the start of a new cycle then we could get a significant rally over the next two or three weeks. Maintaining a long position in gold but out of silver for now.


We are still watching crude oil prices for a possible short-term rally into the first week of April. If that happens, prices may not get beyond $48 - $49. That would probably be a good spot to sell short as it looks like this current crude cycle could be pointed down for the next two or three months.  Out of this market for now.





Trading Blog        Wednesday,  March 18,  2015

3/18/2015

 
GOLD TRADE ALERT  (12:05 pm EST)

The U.S. Dollar Index is hanging just below 100, and a short-term bearish momentum signal appeared in its chart today suggesting that a correction could be imminent.  Gold prices are down a bit ($1149 at 11:45 am EST) as are silver prices, but silver is remaining above its low of last week ($15.31) so our intermarket bullish divergence signal remains intact.  As I suggested in last night's blog, I am going to enter a long position in gold before the FOMC meeting minutes are released in anticipation of a possible gold reversal to the upside.  We can set a stop loss for this trade on a break below $1140 and/or silver breaking below $15.31 (which would negate the bullish divergence signal).  if gold does turn south, the maximum loss here would be less than 1% which gives us a very good risk/reward ratio.  Also, since we are trading intraday there is no risk of a gap down breaching our stop loss point.   Entering a long position in gold today at 12:05 pm.  Remaining out of silver for now.



Trading Blog      Tuesday (night),  March 17,  2015

3/16/2015

 
MARKETS UPDATE and GOLD STRATEGY ALERT  (11:45 pm EST)

Will the Fed continue to be or not be "patient"?  That is the question on most market analyst's minds right now. That is, will the Federal Reserve drop the word "patient" (the word used by the Fed in previous statements) to describe its attitude about when to start raising interest rates in its statement tomorrow after the conclusion of this month's FOMC meeting?  Removing that word means the Fed is getting ready to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.  But when will it happen?  Most analysts feel it will be in June, and most analysts expect tomorrow's Fed statement and Janet Yellen's subsequent press conference to reinforce this idea.  Removing the word "patient" is being viewed by the majority of analysts as the prelude to a June rate hike. (In fact, if they don't remove it, it could mean the Fed is considering delaying a rate hike.  If this happens, Wall Street exuberance, or perhaps more appropriately, "irrational exuberance", could kick the broad stock market into high gear.)

The main reason I am penning this late blog is to make readers aware of a possible gold trading opportunity for early tomorrow. As I've stated in recent blogs, the U.S. Dollar Index is extremely oversold and ripe for some sort of correction. It is now pushing against strong resistance at the 100 mark and is at a good point to back off a bit and take a breather. Rising interest rates are bullish for the dollar, and this market's expectation of a June rate hike for some time now has likely fueled the dollar rally. In other words, it has already been factored in to the dollar's value. The only thing that could push the dollar higher now would be the suggestion of a rate hike before June, and this seems unlikely at the moment.  On the other hand, the postponement of a June hike would disappoint dollar bulls and would likely kick the dollar's value down.  My point here is that it seems likely tomorrow's Fed statement will push the U.S. Dollar Index down (in expectation of a June or later hike), and this could kick the price of gold up.  But is gold technically at a good position to turn up?  Yes, it is. Gold had an intermarket bullish divergence with silver today (gold prices made a new weekly low and silver prices did not) and cycle studies point to an ideal bottom any time between now and the first week of April.  If silver prices can stay above last week's low tomorrow, I may enter a long position in gold, even before the Fed's statement and Janet Yellen's press conference in the afternoon.  I am again avoiding trading silver because of its high volatility and because this will likely be a short-term trade.

If the Fed and Janet Yellen deliver what analysts are expecting (i.e. confirmation of a June rate hike) then tomorrow should not be much of a game changer for the broad stock market.  We are staying on the sidelines as this market remains volatile and is manifesting mixed bullish and bearish signals.

Crude oil prices made a new low today at $42.44 which is reinforcing the idea that the new cycle in crude is turning bearish. As I stated in my last blog, we will now watch for a top in any short-term rally and look to sell short.  Out of this market for now.




Trading Blog        Monday (early AM),  March 16,  2015

3/16/2015

 
MARKETS  UPDATE  (3:30 pm EST)

Last week's broad stock market was quite a roller coaster ride.  The DOW was up 138 points on Monday, down 332 points on Tuesday, up 259 points on Thursday and finally down 145 points on Friday.  This kind of market is great if you are a day trader (I am not) and you're timing is good.  For longer term traders, however, this kind of volatility makes trading difficult, if not dangerous, and it is often best to stay on the sidelines during such times (which is what we have been doing). The broad stock market's directional momentum is now ambiguous (mixed bullish and bearish) so it can go either way here.  In the DOW last week, support around 17,600 held very well, and it was the ideal timing window for a significant bottom. From this we could make a case for another rally towards a new all-time high into the first week of April. I would like to see some short-term technical buy signals, however, before going long based on that idea.   The alternative bearish view would see the DOW continuing down from here (or perhaps rallying a bit more without making a new all-time high and then turning down) with the final cycle bottom below 17,000 two to three months from now.  If the DOW breaks and closes below the 17,540 - 17,600 area next week then this latter (bearish) scenario may be starting.  I might add here that wild market fluctuations such as those seen last week is indicative of a lot of fear and uncertainty in the markets, and this often precedes a significant correction.  On the other hand, we don't want to underestimate the power of the Federal Reserve to keep the Wall Street party going. Their main (overt) tool for doing this now is the continuation of low, near-zero interest rates, but, of course, this is supposed to come to an end in June.  Over the last several weeks it seems that even the mere suggestion in the media of an early rate hike is enough to spook equity markets into a brief tumble.  What, then, will happen when the real rate hike comes?  Will the Fed delay raising interest rates a little longer to avoid a potential market crash?  Perhaps the Fed meeting this week will shed some light on these questions.  
The ambiguity of the current market is keeping us on the sidelines for now.  

Directional momentum in the gold and silver markets still looks quite bearish (especially in gold), but there are also technical and cycle patterns that suggest a significant low could be forming now in both metals. (It may have formed last week).  We will watch to see if the current rally can gain any legs this week, but my bias is to see new lows, perhaps into the first week of April, for a good spot to go long at the start of a new cycle (assuming gold prices stay above $1132 and silver above $14.50).  On the sidelines of both gold and silver for now..

The U.S. Dollar Index is now testing the 100 level, but so far has not made a clear break through it.  The dollar is ridiculously overbought and its chart pattern is now taking the form of a classic "blow off". A blow off top is normally followed by a severe correction, but there are some technical indicators suggesting that this dollar rally could continue further (although in the late stage of a blow off technical indicators aren't that reliable).  If the dollar pauses and takes even a modest correction now, it could take some downward pressure off of gold and silver prices (as well as equities and crude oil) and encourage these markets to rally, at least short-term.  Some analysts are suggesting that this current dollar rally is indicative of an imminent serious upheaval in all financial markets.  If so, a dollar correction now would help to postpone such a disaster (perhaps until June when interest rates are expected to rise?).

Directional momentum in crude oil charts is now 100% bearish, and yesterday (Sunday) crude prices made a new low at $43.57 which is lower than the low that started the current cycle on Jan. 29 ($44.37).  This means the cycle has also turned bearish and is likely pointed down for the next two or three months.  Our trading strategy should now be bearish and we will look to sell short the top of any short-term rally.  We may get one into the first week of April.  Still on the sidelines here.





Trading Blog           Wednesday,  March 11,  2015                  

3/11/2015

 
MARKETS  UPDATE  (4:30 pm EST)

There are some major shifts occurring in the charts of several financial markets this week that are going to affect our trading strategies moving forward.  I have been focusing on last week and this week as a likely reversal zone for all of the markets we trade.  Usually this means that a falling market will turn up or a rising market will turn down.  I want to point out here, however, that a reversal zone can also coincide with an abrupt breakdown in a falling market or a breakout if markets are rising. This happens infrequently, but it does happen, especially in a highly volatile trading environment like we have now.  We may be seeing this now in several markets.


The broad stock market fell dramatically yesterday and the DOW is now in our target zone range of 17,600 - 17,700. That area seems to be holding today. This could be a good spot to go long for a possible rally into early April.  I am a little hesitant to buy, though, because yesterday's plunge triggered a major bearish momentum signal in the chart of not only the DOW, but the S&P 500 and NASDAQ indices as well.  This means that these markets are now mixed bullish and bearish (they had been 100% bullish). This adds a little more weight to the possibility of the markets breaking down further instead of reversing.  Even if they do reverse up here, the new bearish momentum may put a damper on any rally.  Nevertheless, cycle structures and the current reversal zone suggest a bottom here and some sort of rally into the first week of April.  I may still go long if support at 17,600 holds and we get a short-term buy signal in the charts over the next few days, but if we do get a rally into early April, I will be looking to reverse position and go short then.  The bottom line here is that I am anticipating a potentially serious correction in the markets, but it is not clear if it is starting now (from the highs of early March) or if it will start from a new high (or double top) in early April.  We will have to wait and see if the markets rally now or break lower over the next several days.  Remaining on the sidelines for today.

My decision to sell my gold long position last week is turning out to be a good one.  Gold (and silver) prices are falling sharply today.  In Monday's blog I wrote: "What we want to watch for here is intermarket bullish divergence, that is, we want to see either gold or silver, but not both, go lower than last week...... If gold starts to break below last week's low, then this bullish divergence signal will be negated and gold could drop towards $1140."  Gold and silver are now breaking well below their lows from last week and the bullish divergence is negated.  In addition to this, a major bearish momentum signal appeared today in gold metal charts.  The gold chart is now 100% bearish.  Silver metal charts are still mixed bullish and bearish, but the chart of the XAU (an index of gold and silver mining companies) also turned 100% bearish today, which is not a good sign for the precious metals. We are now moving out of the reversal zone for gold and silver, and while it is possible we could still form a cycle bottom this week, this market's sudden bearishness is suggesting a deeper correction over the next several weeks.  Gold prices could go to $1130 - $1140.  Any close below $1130 would be an extremely bearish sign for this market as it would suggest that the next gold cycle would be pointed down.  I may still be looking to buy the bottom of this correction as it will represent the start of a new cycle which is usually bullish for at least a couple of weeks, but our general trading strategy in precious metals may be turning bearish now, which means we should probably look to sell short any significant rallies.  I am remaining on the sidelines of gold and silver until I am more certain of the bottom to this current correction.

Crude oil prices are starting to penetrate my target zone for a buy ($47 - $48) but today's price dip also triggered a major bearish momentum signal.  This turns the crude oil charts 100% bearish now and strengthens the possibility of a further breakdown in prices past this week.  As with gold, I am losing my enthusiasm for buying a low this week in crude.  I want to see at least a short-term buy signal in the crude charts before considering a long position. If we don't get one this week we may have to wait until early April for a bottom.  Still out of this market.

The U.S. Dollar Index surged today and nearly touched 100, its highest level since 2004.  The greenback's accelerating steep rise since July 2014 is ominously similar to its steep spike in late 2008 when investors fled equity and commodity markets for the perceived safety of U.S. dollars. This played a major roll in the collapse of these markets. Is history about to repeat itself?   We will have to wait and see.  For now, the dollar's parabolic rise is certainly contributing to the breakdown of precious metal prices and is also having a negative effect on crude oil and equities as well.  That 100 mark, however, may be hard for the greenback to break, and any dollar pullback now would take some of the bearish pressure off the markets, at least temporarily. But even if the dollar backs down a bit, it has already broken through an important resistance level in the 90 -92 area so we could easily see the 100 level exceeded soon.





Trading Blog          Monday,  March 9,  2015

3/9/2015

 
MARKETS  UPDATE  (4:15 pm EST)

Friday's better than expected jobs report raised fears on Wall Street of an early interest rate hike by the Fed and spooked the broad stock market into a steep plunge with the DOW dropping 279 points and the S&P 500 losing 30 points (about 1.5% each).  We were expecting a market reversal in early March and it appears that we are getting that now. The question now is how serious will this correction be.  One can make the case for a very serious correction now, but, despite last week's "scary" news of an improving economy, the Fed is not likely to raise interest rates before June (some analysts even feel they might postpone a hike past the mid-year projection), and we don't want to underestimate the power of the Fed (and others) to keep the markets rallying as long as they can.  In the U.S. we are also currently in tax season when lots of money is being put into investment funds before the end of the tax year in April.  This could also help keep markets buoyant over the next several weeks.  Because it is still early in the new cycles of the DOW and S&P 500, it's possible for these markets to make a small correction now and then rise into the next reversal zone in early April before starting a more serious downturn (I mentioned this possibility in last Monday's blog).  Directional momentum (still very bullish in the DOW, S&P 500 and NASDAQ charts) is supporting this idea.  In this scenario a good spot for the DOW to turn up is in the 17,600 -17,700 area.  I am still watching this target as a possible spot to go long for a short-term rally.  If the DOW starts closing below that range it could mean that a more serious correction is underway.  Any break below 17,000 (the start of the current cycle in the DOW) would indicate that these markets are turning bearish and we wouldn't see the bottom until May or June.  Right now, however, I am going with the more bullish scenario that anticipates a new high in early April.  Still on the sidelines.

Friday's panic on Wall street was accompanied by a surge in the U.S. Dollar Index as investors continue to view U.S. currency as the "least rotten apple" in a barrel of collapsing and unstable European and Asian economies.  This dollar surge caused gold to break its support at $1200 and both gold and silver plunged on Friday.  We were stopped out of our long gold positions, but there is a possibility of a new low forming now as we are still in a reversal zone and both gold and silver are near the end of their current cycles.  What we want to watch for here is intermarket bullish divergence, that is, we want to see either gold or silver, but not both, go lower than last week.  Today silver moved slightly below its low of last week but gold did not, so this could be setting up now.  If gold starts to break below last week's low, then this bullish divergence signal will be negated and gold could drop towards $1140.  I realize that there is not much enthusiasm for jumping back into precious metals after just bailing out with a loss last week, but as long as gold prices hold above $1132, there is a good chance of a substantial rally (from the start of a new cycle) soon.  I will watch for short-term trading signals over the next few days for a possible bottom to buy.  The U.S. Dollar Index may finally be forming a top at 98 (it is grotesquely overbought) and about to back down a bit.  If it does, we could then see gold and silver rally.  Out of both gold and silver for now.

Crude oil prices continue to hover around the $50 level and are showing no clear signs of a top or bottom yet.  My preference is still to see a new weekly bottom in the $47 - $48 area (hopefully this week) to buy, but if prices start to surge up towards $55, I will consider selling short.  Still on the sidelines.





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The Alternative Investor takes no advertising or incentives from any company, institution or investment that is discussed on the website.  Any trading and investing information presented is based on Alternative Investor's independent and unbiased research and analysis of current financial markets.

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All statements and trading/investment information on this website represent solely the personal opinion of The Alternative Investor based on information available at the time of writing and are intended for educational purposes only and are not a recommendation to buy or sell securities, commodities or currencies.  The Alternative Investor is not a licensed broker or financial advisor.  The Alternative Investor presents the trading and investing information on this site in good faith based on his own research into current financial markets but cannot and does not guarantee profit and does not guarantee against any financial losses that result from using this information.  All users of this website and the information presented within it assume full responsibility for their own personal trading/investing decisions and any losses that may result from them.

Trading and investing in any financial market may involve serious risk of loss.  For this reason all traders and investors should never place more money than they can afford to lose in any individual market.  The Alternative Investor monitors several markets and encourages a balanced distribution of funds among them (and others).  The Alternative Investor recommends consulting with a professional financial advisor before making any transactions with financial ramifications.  All trading, investing and financial transactions should always be made in accordance with the appropriate laws and legal regulations in your area of jurisdiction.

The Alternative Investor is an independent researcher and analyst and receives no compensation of any kind from any individuals, groups, companies or institutions discussed on this website.