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Precious Metals: Gold, Silver and Miners Are Trapped

The precious metal market has been stuck in a strong down trend since 2012. But the recent chart, volume and technical analysis is starting to show some signs that a bottom may have already taken place.

This report focused on the weekly and monthly charts which allow us to see the bigger picture of where the precious metals sector stands in terms of its trend.

Let’s take a look at a few charts below for a quick overview, but if you want more interesting ones visit: https://stockcharts.com/public/1992897

Gold Spot Price – Weekly Chart

This chart clearly shows the trends which gold has gone through in the last three years. With simple technical analysis trend lines, clearly price is nearing a significant apex which will result in a strong breakout in either direction.

Remember, this is the weekly chart, so we could still have another month or three of sideways chatter to work through. But a breakout in either direction will trigger a large move.

goldtrend

 

Silver Spot Price – Weekly Chart

Silver is also stuck in a similar pattern.  Currently the odds still favors lower prices and for the upper resistance trend line to reject price and send it lower. But if we keep out eye on the leading indicators like gold miners, we may be able to catch a breakout or traded the rejection of resistance in the next month or so.

silvertrend

 

Gold Mining Stock ETF – Monthly Chart

Gold miners have a very sloppy looking chart. Price is extremely volatile and the recent price action in 2013 could go either way VERY quickly. I have a gut feeling GDX in the coming months could have a washout bottom and tag the $20 price level. While I hope I am wrong for many investors sake, if it does happen, it will be a very strong investment level to accumulate a position.

gdxtrend

 

Precious Metals Bigger Picture Outlook:

In short, I remain neutral – bearish for this sector.  In the next 1-3 months we are likely to see some strong price action which will be great. We need a breakout or bottoming pattern to form before we get involved at this level.

I know everyone is dying to get involved in precious metals again for another huge rally… but sometimes it’s just best to wait for the big picture chart to catch up with your bias before taking a position of size.

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Why Investors Must Be Cautious At These Prices

Last week on October 8th the financial market experienced a broad based sell off. Every sector was down with utilities being the only exception.

The individual leadership stocks, which are typically small to mid-cap companies (IWM – Russell 2K) that have a strong history and outlook of earnings growth, were hit hard as well.

Whenever the broad market experiences a price correction, one of the most important factors I analyze is how well leading stocks hold up and show relative strength to the broad market.

So, where does this leave us going forward?

When stocks that have been leading the market higher and only pausing during market corrections in the S&P500, Dow, and NASDAQ, it’s a positive sign. This tells us investors and big money continues to flow into the risk on assets (stocks).

Conversely, when these leading stocks/sectors begin succumbing to the selling pressure of the broad market, it quickly grabs my attention and tells us it’s time to be aware that a major top may be forming.

It looks as though the broad market rally is just barely hanging on. If the leading stocks and sectors begin breaking below their 50-day moving averages, my proprietary SP500 Market Timing & Trading System will shift to sell mode and things could get ugly for those who do not know how to trade a bear market.

Weekly Relative Strength Showing Negative Divergence

This chart has two important things I would like to point out. First is the fact that the RSI has being overbought twice in the past three years with the most recent one taking place a few months ago. The last time this took place the SP500 had a very strong correction.

The second insight the RSI is providing us with is the diverging price and relative strength as shown with the purple lines on the chart below. This is telling us that the power/momentum behind the market is slowing.

div1

 

Daily Bullish Percent Index – Shows Negative Divergence

I always prefer to watch and analyze the NYSE as it’s the big board where all the HUGE money is flowing from traders and investors. The chart below clearly shows that less stocks are moving higher as seen with the purple bullish percent index line. With less stocks making new highs, yet the stock market continues to climb this is a warning sign that this bull market is slowly running out of steam.

 

div2

 

Technology & Financial Sector Are Rising But For How Long?

Two very powerful sectors are holding up well but once they start to breakdown from these chart patterns things could get ugly real quick. Our 3x ETF trading newsletter becomes very active in bear markets as the upside potential is much larger.

The XLK technology sector looks to be forming a bearish rising wedge. If/once it starts to slide it will have a strong impact on the broad market.

div3

Financial Sector XLF

The recent price action of scattered trading ranges looks to be similar to the top we saw in 2011. If this is the case then we have bearish head & shoulders pattern with a rising neckline forming. Once price breaks through the neck line we should expect sharp drop in price.

This sector is heavily weighted in the SP500 so if it start to drop, expect the SP500 to fall with it.

dvi4

 

Major Market Top Lurking…

The chart below pointing out the next bear market likely to take place is a scary looking chart to most individuals. But if you know what you are doing, they can provide more profits in a shorter period of time than a four year bull market.

If this market is starting to stall out and is in the process of forming a top. Keep in mind that market tops are a process. They take typically 3-6 months to form before a true breakdown occurs and the bear market starts. And until then, price will be choppy and difficult to trade.

majorcycle

 

Cautious Trading Conclusion:

In short, this report shows you some major divergences in the financial market. Remember, you do not really trade off divergences, as they are not good at timing. They are simply a warning sign telling us that something large is brewing and that risk is higher than normal.

There are few ETFs I like on various sectors and commodities that show some oversized upside potential in the coming weeks/months. Depending on what takes place in Washington this week will move the market and likely trigger some sharp moves. Until then, sitting tight is the safe play.

Get my trading reports and my trade alerts at www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Chris Vermeulen

Indexes continue to sputter on news out of Washington

While the indexes continue to sputter on news out of Washington, we continue to focus on the charts and trade with the trend and what we see.

Understandably, several concerned subscribers have e-mailed me to get my thoughts on how we would handle such news.

As usual, the media is playing with human emotions – Fear. As talked about before, fear in my opinion the most powerful emotion and force in the financial market. So when true fear hits the country it will be clear to see, but right now, investors are in no rush to sell their positions in stocks just yet.

If our leaders fail to come to some agreement in the next couple weeks the question many want to know is

How Will We Trade This Event/News?

The answer: we ignore it. Though we could reduce position sizes to be safe when the time comes on Oct 17th.

During most bull markets, there is typically a “wall of worry” to traders and investors climb. The details are different every time, but there are usually one or two major “risk factors” that investors worry about when the broad market is trending higher.

Traders and investors who focus on doom and gloom headlines are more than likely to be shaken out of their long positions…especially those who lack conviction in their trading system.

Conversely, I focus on individual price and volume action of leading sectors and ETFs.

Holding long positions through market corrections is never easy, but it is NOT our job to decide when a trend is over.

If we approach trading with a clear and objective mindset, the stock market will always tell us what to do, based on the price, cycles and volume action. If our ETF positions sell off to trigger our protective stops, we will simply be forced into 100% cash position.

The beauty of such a rule-based trading is that it removes some human emotion and guesswork from trading.

This increases our long-term trading success, and the added benefit of being calmer and stress-free, regardless of what is happening in the stock market.

NewsNeeded

Trading Plans…

If you are new to swing trading, or have had little success in the past with trading, it is a great idea to get in the habit of planning your trades (trading rules) and trading your plan.

You must continually try to identify all potential outcomes before entering a trade.

If you do, then you should not be surprised when price moves because you realize that anything is possible, and you have already accounted for it and used proper position management to protect capital and lock in partial gains.

Trading with rules allows you to prepare and worry before the trade takes place, so that you can focus on executing the plan when the time comes.

Above all, focus on the price, momentum and volume action, rather than the amount of profit or loss a trade is showing in your account.

If you focus on proven trading rules and execution, consistent trading profits will eventually and inevitably follow.

Are we right or wrong to focus on price and volume action, rather than news? See my stockcharts list here for info on How Price Is The Only Thing That Pays!

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Learn How To Be A Technical Analyst in 14 Minutes

Watch Chris Vermeulen run through the markets in pre-market trading live and how he applies technical analysis to spot new trades, trends and market sentiment…

Learn More About Chris’ Technical Analysis Strategy

 

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Member’s Pocketed 5% on Natural Gas Bounce with Signature Candle & Volume Pattern

During the last couple weeks the SP500 index has been taking a beating leaving many traders left holding the bag at high prices.

Fortunately, I cover several different investments so we when one is not giving us a trade, another one should be.

Taking a look at the technical analyst trading charts below you will see how a simple reversal candle coupled with volume can generate low risk and highly effective trades that move in your favor quickly.

natgastrade

If you want to learn how to read and trade the charts like a pro, be sure to join my daily video analysis newsletter which is jam packed with trading education and tradable ideas each day.

Join Today! www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

 

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Precious Metals & Miners Flash Short-Sell Signal

It has been a bumpy ride for precious metal investors over the past couple of years and it unfortunately I do not think its over just yet.

The good news is that the bottom has likely been put in for gold, silver and gold miners BUT the recent rally in these metals and miner looks to be coming to an end. While we could see another pop in price over the next week or so the price, volume and momentum see to be stalling out.

What does this mean? It means we should expect short term weakness and lower prices over the next month or two.

Below are three charts I posted several months ago on my free stockcharts list. These forecast were based off simple technical analysis using cycles, Fibonacci and price patterns. As you can see we are not trading at my key pivot level which I expect selling pressure to start to increase and eventually overpower the buyers sending the prices lower.

 

Gold Trading Weekly Chart:

Here you can see that gold is technically in a bear market when viewing it on the weekly chart. If you were to pull up a daily chart you would likely notice how the price of gold is trading at a key resistance level on the chart and has reached its full flag measured move.

What does this mean? It means the odds are pointing to lower prices for gold in the next few weeks. Keep in mind though I do feel as though a major bottom has been put in place for the precious metals sector. So buyers are likely to step back in around the $1300 area.

goldoverbought

 

Silver Trading Weekly Chart:

Silver has a little bit different looking chart but the same analysis applies here as it did in gold.

silveroverbought

 

Gold Miners Trading Monthly Chart:

Gold miners may have bottomed on this monthly investing timeframe chart but the daily chart which you will see next clearly shows short term weakness has started.

GDXLongtermBottom

 

Gold Miners Trading Daily Chart:

This daily chart really shows my thinking for miners and the overall precious metals sector as a whole. The recent weakness in gold miners to the down side point to distribution of shares. This is very negative for the price of physical gold and silver as gold mining stocks tend to lead physical metals.

The yellow box shows a possible major stage 1 basing pattern forming. If this is the case, then we will have a great opportunity in the coming months when the precious metals down trend completes a reversal and start heading higher.

gdxoverbought

 

How to Trade Precious Metals & Gold Miners Conclusion:

In short, I think that staying in cash or shorting metals is the play for the next couple weeks. After that anything can happen and until price breaks down or finally completes the basing pattern and confirms a market bottom I would be very cautious trading here.

In the last week members of my trading newsletter took profits on our short SP500 trade and we closed a long trade in natural gas for a quick 6.5% gain. Join our community of traders and have your money on the right side of the market!

Chris Vermeulen
www.GoldAndOilGuy.com

 

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Silver at Multi-Month High

The price of silver reached a 5-month high this past week as investor interest seems to have been rekindled in both gold and silver as belief in financial markets increases that the latest round of monetary easing from the Federal Reserve – QE3 – will soon be on its way. Many investors had largely stayed away from silver in recent months after some had got caught up in its volatility. Silver had touched a 30-year high in April 2011 before plunging 35 percent in a few short weeks.

Now the volatility is back – but on the upside – as prices have climbed more than 20 percent in less than a month. The gains have outpaced that of gold which rose roughly 10 percent during the same time frame. Importantly for investors, the ratio between the two precious metals has moved about 10 percent in silver’s favor since mid-August. This is the first time silver has outperformed gold since the start of 2012.

For non-futures investors, the two precious metals can easily be tracked through the use of exchange traded funds (ETFs). The most liquid ETFs for the two precious metals are the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE Arca: SLV) and the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE Arca: GLD) respectively.

Silver Bullion Spot Price

Gold Bullion Spot Price

You can take a look at my long term outlook analysis from last week here: http://www.thetechnicaltraders.com/gold-standard-to-be-reinstated-through-the-back-door/

Some may wonder why has silver outperformed gold in the past several weeks? The answer goes deeper than just confidence that QE3 is coming soon, but it is still rather a simple one. The sharp rally in silver was fueled largely by short-covering. That is, some investors (hedge funds, etc.) had made rather large bets that silver would continue falling and were caught off-guard by its recent rise. According to data from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the silver market during the week of August 27-31 saw the largest amount of short-covering since May 2011. At the same time. Bloomberg reported that hedge funds were the least bullish on silver in almost four years.

It is unknown for how long silver will outperform gold. But even some long-term fundamental investors such as legendary commodities investor Jim Rogers has said that he believes silver right now is a better investment than gold. He points to the fact that historically gold has been worth about 12 to 15 times what silver is worth, but that recently it has been worth roughly 50 times silver’s value. Silver is also the only major commodity not to have reached a new all-time high in the decade-long commodity bull market and is still cheaper than it was 32 years ago.

So it may be worth a look. But since silver is so volatile, wait for a downward spike before initiating or adding to a long position.

If you would like to get my weekly analysis on precious metals
and the board market join my free newsletter at www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Chris Vermeulen

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Gold Standard To Be Reinstated Through The Back Door

For the first time in over 30 years, talk of a return to the gold standard has become part of mainstream politics in the United States. Part of the official Republican policy adopted it at the recent Republican Convention and called for the commission to look at reestablishing the link between gold and the U.S. dollar. No doubt that plank was added to soothe supporters of Texas Congressman Ron Paul.

However, gold bugs holding gold bullion or even those holding gold ETFs such as the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) shouldn’t hold their breath in anticipation of the gold standard returning. There was a similar commission – the Gold Commission – set up in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. After a lot of ‘commissioning’, the decision was made to go with the status quo of using fiat Federal Reserve dollars.

Any commission set up under the current president would likely come to the same conclusion. There are simply too many practical obstacles to return to a full-fledged gold standard. Even pro-gold advocates including the World Gold Council and the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA) don’t see a gold standard returning.

The key problem would be at what price of gold would the United States peg its currency. Great Britain returned to the gold standard in 1925, after going off it in 1914, at the 1914 peg price. This was a mistake made by Winston Churchill (he called it the biggest he ever made) since it basically ignored the vast inflation in the British pound in those intervening years. The result was a vast overvaluation of the pound and deflation and high unemployment soon followed.

What price would a new Gold Commission set as the “correct” price of the U.S. dollar versus gold? $1,000? $2,000? $5,000? The answer is that there is no “correct” price. Whatever price is set will eventually be tested by the financial markets and fail much as the pegged currencies system failed. So there will be no return to the gold standard.

But that does not mean there will not be a ‘back-door’ gold standard. The move to such as a system is already underway as central banks all over the world are rebuilding their stockpiles of gold. After two decades of heavy selling, central banks became net buyers of gold in 2010 and the momentum has built since. Gold will likely end up being used as ‘good’ collateral by global central banks, as opposed to the shaky collateral sovereign bonds are turning into.

Central bank purchases, led by the emerging markets, are on track this year to hit a record high according to the World Gold Council. China alone in 2011 bought around 490 tons of gold. Other countries including Russia, Turkey and South Korea have added gold to their official holdings in recent months. This buying showed up as central bank purchases in the second quarter of 2012 were more than double the level reported a year earlier at 157.5 metric tons. If the buying continues at current levels, central banks gold purchases would total around 500 tons this year, easily surpassing last year’s 458 tons.

The bottom line for investors from the global central banks’ buying of gold? The gold standard is working its way back into the international monetary system through the back door. This should, in the long-term, put a floor under gold and help maintain it on its steady upward path.

Just last week we started to see gold bullion, silver bullion and gold miner share prices start to breakout to the upside of a 12 month consolidation pattern. This could be the start of the next major rally in precious metals as future uncertainty fears continue to rise. The large bullish technical pattern we see on the gold chart points to much higher prices over the coming 24 months. But keep in mind this is a monthly chart and it could still take months to truly breakout to new highs and start another rally.

Gold Bullion Trading

If you would like to get my weekly analysis on precious metals
and the board market join my free newsletter at www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Chris Vermeulen

 

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The Precious Metals MAJOR Breakout Part II

It has been a year since the price of gold bullion topped out and even longer for silver. Many traders and investors have been patiently waiting for this long term consolidation pattern to breakout and trigger the rally for precious metals and miner stocks. Most of gold bullion is used for investment purposes.  As a result, it rises when there is economic weakness and investors lose confidence in the fiat currency of a country.

With continuing economic weakness in the United States it will almost certainly lead the Federal Reserve to act in way that is more powerful than Operation Twist which is the selling of short term securities to buy those with a longer term.   Based on the most recent data, economic growth in the United States is falling as the unemployment rate rises.  A recent statement by the Federal Reserve was unusually clear in calling for greater action in the future.

 

Gold, Silver and Dollar Weekly Price Chart:

Take a look at the weekly charts below which compare gold and silver to the US Dollar index. You will notice how major resistance for metals lines up with major support for the dollar. As this time metals are still in consolidation mode (down trend) and the dollar is in an uptrend.

Weekly Metals Outlook

 

Gold Miners ETF Weekly Chart:

Gold miners have been under pressure for a long time and while they make money they have refused to boost dividends. That being said I feel the time is coming where gold miner companies breakout and rally then start to raise dividends in shortly after to really get share prices higher.

GDX - Gold Miner Stock ETF

On August 13th I talked about the characteristic’s and how to trade the next precious metals breakout and where your money should be for the first half of the rally and where it should rotate into for the second half. Doing this could double you’re returns. Read Part I: http://www.thegoldandoilguy.com/gold-mining-stocks-continue-to-disappoint-but-not-for-long/

Overall I feel a rally is nearing in metals that will lead to major gains. It may start this week or it still could be a couple months down the road. But when it happens there should be some solid profits to be had. I continue to keep my eye on this sector for when they technically breakout and start an uptrend.

If you would like to get my weekly analysis on precious metals and the board market be sure to join my free newsletter at www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

Chris Vermeulen