Holiday Gold, Oil and Index Trend Trading

Dec 27th 2009
Another holiday trading extravaganza!!!

Last week the market fell into its regular holiday tradition of light volume, as institutions and big traders enjoyed the holidays thus allowing prices to drift higher. We still have one more week of light trading volume before this year and holiday season is officially over.

Trading during low volume times is regularly misinterpreted. Many traders figure they should not be trading this time of the year but from my experience, the last two weeks of the year are amazing for short term swing plays or day trading. The market seems to be much more predictable when the large program traders are not involved.

Also the more speculative plays (small and mid cap stocks) always seem to out perform as buyers bid the prices higher into the light selling volume. This is most likely why we are seeing the NASDAQ and Russell 2000 indexes making some nice gains of late.

Take a look at the charts…

Broad Market & NASDAQ Low Volume Rally

Stock Market Trend

GLD ETF Trading – Daily Chart
Gold prices broke down as expected in early December and are now nearing a possible bottom. The past 3 weeks have provided some very exciting day trades shorting spot gold prices. In the next few weeks I will be starting to provide more spot gold charts and intraday price action for all the international traders and futures traders ?

I did not provide the chart of silver as it trades very similar to gold. When the time comes I will provide detailed analysis for entry and exit points for members.

Gold Market Trend

Crude Oil USO Trend Trading
USO fund had a very nice pullback in early December and I pointed out a spec play at $35.50 with targets set at $37, $38 and $40. So far the first two profit taking targets have been reached.

Sorry for all the lines on the chart but sometimes it’s the only way to remember where all the crucial levels are for trading pivot points.

Oil Trend Trading

Natural Gas UNG Trend Trading
Natural gas trades like a bucking bronco. It’s a tough ride if you do not understand market psychology and apply strict money management to your positions.

Last weeks price action closed with a bearish candle after testing resistance twice. We could get a short trade this week depending on what happens from here. Let’s keep our eyes open for a low risk setup.

Natural Gas Trend

Market Trends Trading Conclusion:
This year has been fantastic for making money, but next year will most likely be much more difficult if we see the market top and head south or trend sideways. The market topping is not an event; rather a process and trend following systems will start having more losing trades than winners as the market momentum shifts from up, to sideways then down.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying I think its going to roll over and head south, cause quite frankly no one knows what its going to do from this point forward. This is the reason we are in cash and patiently awaiting new low risk opportunities to place our money. The joy of trading with technical analysis is that you don’t care which direction the markets go because the analysis, if done correctly, allows you to profit in all market conditions using different trading strategies.

The board market, in my opinion, is way overbought due to the holiday rally. But we must remember there is another low volume week as we approach New Years and this could extend the rally more. Smaller trading positions should be used until we enter the New Year and volume steps back into the market.

Gold and silver are in a short term down trend and trading near a resistance level. We could see prices drop quickly or rally from here. So we are letting things unfold before making a commitment.

Oil continues to move higher and last weeks weakening US dollar helped give oil a boost.

Natural gas is trading at resistance and looks ready to head back down. The daily and 30 minute chart did not setup a signal to short Natural Gas, but it was very close.

As usual, I will update on the market and provide daily updates and trades to members.

Free Gold ETF Trading Newsletter

Chris Vermeulen
www.GoldAndOilGuy.com – Gold Newsletter

December 27, 2009

Daily Market Trades, Gold ETF Analysis, Oil ETF Analysis, Silver ETF Analysis, Trading Education

10 Days of Indexes and Commodities

It’s been a great year as we head into the final few trading sessions. The past several weeks the indexes have not done much of anything which is why we are now in cash.

I feel as though the market is about to change direction abruptly in the coming days or weeks. I feel this way for several reasons:

1. NYSE, Dow Jones, S&P500 are all drifting higher into resistance levels on the 10 day, 60 minute charts. Light volume tends to favor higher price hence the reason for the holiday rally.
2. Broad market momentum waves are topping
3. These same indexes are trading at resistance levels from early 2008
4. Money flow is indicating large institutions have been big sellers over the past 3 weeks.
5. US economy I think is worse than most want to think

So take a look at these 10 day charts which clearly show resistance and support trend lines. Each, if broken will lead to a sharp decline. I used ETF’s as substitutes for the indexes.

Dow Jones – DIA – Top Chart
SPY – S&P500 – Middle Chart
NYSE – Bottom Chart

Stock Market Trend

Stocks have started to decouple for the US dollar in recent days so I am not focusing much on what affect the dollar will have on the above indexes.

That being said, the US dollar (UUP etf fund) is at a pivotal point. It’s either going to bounce off the trend line support level (blue line) and send gold back down to test the previous low, or breakdown through the support trend line. A falling dollar will give gold some power to muscle its way back up to the next short term support level.

Dollar and Gold Trends

Yesterday (Tuesday Dec 22nd) we said gold stocks and silver prices would move higher. I consider gold stocks and silver my leading indicators for the price of gold. Today (Wednesday Dec 23rd) gold stocks and silver shot higher – out performing gold by 7:1 which is very bullish for gold.

Crude oil had a large rally today sending the USO oil fund surging 3.5%, confirming a bounce off our support level 2 weeks ago. It could be warming up for another rally.

Natural gas opened lower but put in a strong session as it trended up all day. This also looks very strong and if prices breakout and follow through next week natural gas could be making a real rally for once.

This is a short trading week with Thursday only a half trading session and Friday being closed for Christmas/Holidays. We will not have any low risk setups this week and because we are sitting in cash, let’s take this time to enjoy our family, friends and pets ?

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Chris Vermeulen
www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

December 23, 2009

Daily Market Trades, Gold ETF Analysis, Oil ETF Analysis, Silver ETF Analysis, Trading Education

Gold Trends, Hot Commodities and the Major Indexes, Trade the Trend!

December 20, 2009
Gold Trends:
Gold has been leading the market for almost a year. Last week gold and gold stocks were trading at support looking ready to bottom but as you will see in my charts below, both broke support on heavy volume.

With gold now under performing the stocks market, I get the feeling we could see the broad market top. Topping is a process and after this strong climb I figure it will be choppy (tough to trade). Much like the price action on the Dow and S&P500 the past month, but this time it will be on a larger scale.

From a technical stand point the major indexes are trading at a key resistance zone from Oct 2008. This has been an amazing year for trading but I think the time has come for a correction or another melt down depending on how you view the US economy. It does not really matter which happens as we can play both directions.

As far as the fundamentals go, well the US economy in my opinion is scary. All I know is that if the markets start to melt down everyone better make BIG money on the way down because a severe correction will cripple the county as millions more will become unemployed. I am concerned that current recession may turn into a depression.

‘If’ we get another stock market meltdown, literally every asset class will go down with it. The only difference I think will be the trend of gold. Everyone has started to buy gold or at least thought about buying some.

‘If’ a meltdown occurs I think gold will go down in price at first with everything else, but if we are headed for another market collapse EVERYONE will turn to gold as the safe haven, triggering a massive parabolic spike straight up which could last years.

Enough of this negative talk, Lets take a look at the short term gold trends.

Gold Trend – Daily & 60 Minute Chart

The trend of gold broke down from the red rising channel a couple weeks back as expected. We were taking profits at the $115 level.

The more recent price action shows two technical breakdowns on the daily chart and the small 60 minute overlaid chart. The daily breakdown crashed through our support trend line and the 60 minute chart shows the breakdown below the previous low. The price is currently trading at resistance and the odds now favor lower prices.

Gold Trends

Silver Trend – Daily Chart

Silver is trading at support and has yet to break the previous low. I think we will see this happen in the next few days.

Trade Trends

Crude Oil Trend – Daily Chart

Oil had a great setup last week with many readers profiting from the oversold bounce off support which I pointed out on the daily chart last week. When buying into an oversold setup like this I scale in over 2-3 days in case prices dip lower as the selling dissipates. Average price was $35.75 and sold at first target of $37 for a 3.5% profit. Many of us still hold a core position with a tight stop.

The 60 minute chart shows this play and how the price popped once the sellers were cleared out.

Trading Trends

Natural Gas Trading Trend – Daily Chart

Trend lines provide excellent levels for support and resistance and this chart is a perfect example of that. Not much to say about this chart other than UNG is trading at resistance and volume is big. This tells me we could see lower prices from here or some sideways price action first.

Natural Gas Trends

Broad Market Index – Dow Jones ETF – Daily Chart

In short, the market is starting to correct as we thought. It still has more to go before testing support. But because this week is a holiday week, volume will be light and like volume favors higher prices. So we could see the highs tested or sideways action.

From looking at the monthly, weekly and daily charts of the major indices I think the market is about to have a sharp correction. If we get a breakdown then we are headed to the next support level which is about 9% down from the recent high in the DIA etf fund.

Major Index trends

Gold Trend and Technical Conclusion:

The trend of gold has been very predictable over the recent months and this correction seems to be text book pullback. I see the short term trend of gold still down but the longer and more powerful underlying trend is up. Let’s wait for the price of gold and silver to sort itself out and wait for low risk entry points before jumping back in.

Crude oil is in pinball mode. It’s just bouncing around between support and resistance levels now. Not much we can do but wait for another setup.

Natural gas is trading at resistance and if we get the proper price action in the next few days we could have a great short trade. Only time will tell.

The broad market trend is looking and feeling very toppy. A lot of money has been moving out of stocks the past 4 weeks and January could be a roller coaster. Last week I exited all my positions except XTR.TO (Energy and Financial dividend fund) which many of us took a position in late February and first week of March. I have set a tight stop and hoping to get the 4th dividend payout before it corrects.

I want to note that I am not going to be shorting the market until the bear trend is definitive. This could be 2-3 months down the road still. But after a great year of trading and the market and economy looking the way it does I am happy to be sitting in cash.

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Chris Vermeulen
www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

December 21, 2009

Daily Market Trades, Gold ETF Analysis, Oil ETF Analysis, Silver ETF Analysis, Trading Education

Stocks and Commodities Are Trading Predictably

Dec 16th, 2009
It’s been a great week so far. Stocks and commodities are moving as expected from my weekend trading report. I like to see the market unfold in a calm collected manner.

The US dollar has made a nice move in the past couple weeks. Although it has broken out of its down channel I think there is a lot of short covering going on making this bounce more powerful than others. Also it is important to note that it is near resistance which could dampen things around the $77-77.5 level. If the dollar heads back down I expect gold to start making a move back up which it started to do Wednesday.

Below are my thoughts and charts about what I think is unfolding for both stocks and commodities.

DIA – Dow Jones Index Fund
The DIA fund has performed just the way I thought it would. Push to a new high then sell down. Generally I would expect this move down to test my support level or trade near that level, but because we are heading into the holiday season and volume is light the market has a natural tendency to drift higher. I’m sure this is why it’s still trading near the high.

This new yearly high was enough to suck in breakout traders and only time will tell if they get follow through or get shaken out of this trade also. Oh, the joys of buying a breakout in an over bought market condition.

ETF Trading

GLD – Gold Exchange Traded Fund
Gold broke down sharply from its trend channel and has settled into a support zone. Wednesday we saw a nice bounce but the question is, is this a rally or a sucker’s bounce?
I’ve found the best setups and moves occur after an ABC retrace. The black lines on the chart show exactly that type of price action. These retraces shake out most short term traders before starting a new rally. There is a thin dotted blue line showing a possible resistance trend line which would need to be broken after the ABC retrace pattern has formed if we want a low risk setup with a sizable win/loss ratio.

Gold ETF Newsletter

SLV – Silver ETF Trading Fund
Silver is in the same boat as its big sister (Yellow Gold). We just need to wait for a high probability setup to present its self before putting any of our hard earned money to work.

Silver Trading Fund

USO – Crude Oil Fund
USO has provided some great short term gains for anyone who used my analysis from my Sunday night report. The quote and chart below covers my thoughts for USO.

Sunday night report:
“Oil broke down out of its bull flag last week and is currently testing both trend line support and horizontal support levels. We could see a short term bounce here to the $37, 38 or 40 levels. Taking money off the table at each resistance level and raising your stop is an important money management strategy I use for this type of play.”

Oil ETF Fund

UNG – Natural Gas Trading Fund
Natural gas is still very much a speculative play as everyone thinks they will make huge money from this commodity.

This means two things in my opinion:
1. It’s still headed lower
2. After rallies the sellers jump back in.

UNG is trading near resistance and it could provide a great shorting opportunity in the coming days.

Natural Gas UNG fund

ETF Trading Conclusion:
Although it’s been a quite week in the market, I have really enjoyed it. Not sure if it is related to everything unfolding in a controlled manner or the holiday season nearing, or maybe both?

November and December have been quiet for our ETFs but I know we are on the verge of either a large move up or down in the coming weeks. Let’s watch the market and funds unfold and see if we can get another trade or two in before year end.

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Chris Vermeulen
www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

December 16, 2009

Daily Market Trades, Gold ETF Analysis, Oil ETF Analysis, Silver ETF Analysis, Trading Education

What’s Next for Stocks, Gold, Silver, Oil & Nat Gas?

December 13, 2009
The past three weeks have been interesting to watch as the Dow (DIA ETF) has broadened causing traders to be shaken in and out of positions. Commodities have been under pressure as the US dollar has risen. Below are some charts of these investments and what I think could happen in the next couple weeks.

DIA – Exchange Traded Fund
As you can see the broadening formation is bearish as it results in a short term pullback. This type of price action is what frustrates breakout and novice traders. As traders jump into positions once the previous high is broken, they hope for a rally. Instead the market briefly moves higher then reverses and moves down to penetrate the previous pivot low. This is where breakout traders place their stops and as the market knows this, it obliges by moving below this level to shake out these traders before it rallies again.

That being said, it looks like stocks could make a new high this week, just enough to suck in more short term breakout traders before rolling over once again to test a deeper support level. A pullback to the $99-100 level would make for a great buy point.

DIA ETF Trade

GLD – Gold Exchange Traded Fund
The strengthening dollar is putting pressure on precious metals with gold testing the first support level. Depending on what the dollar does in the coming days we could see gold test the second support level.

In my opinion gold can test the second support level without triggering any major sell signals for traders and investors. The trend will still be up and it is important to know the horizontal support level is more important than a trend line support level.

GLD Gold Trend

SLV – Exchange Traded Fund
Silver is in the same boat at gold. Only time will tell if we get a bounce or a further test lower. Either way, the underlying trend is still up and we will be able trade it.

SLV Silver Trading

USO – Oil Exchange Traded Fund
Oil broke down out of its bull flag last week and is currently testing both trend line support and horizontal support levels. We could see a short term bounce here to the $37, 38 or 40 levels. Taking money off the table at each resistance level and raising your stop is an important money management strategy I use for this type of play.

This is a high risk type of play which I am not taking part in. But I do find it fun to track plays like this for educational reasons.

How to trade Oil

UNG – Natural Gas Exchange Traded Fund
The natural gas fund is a touchy topic with so many traders. I get emails every day asking why I trade UNG because of the contango and the fact that so many people have lost money with it; they don’t want to touch it again. My answer is very simple, it works perfectly fine for short term trading which lasts 1-20 days. “If it works, Don’t Fix It”.
I do agree UNG is tougher than other ETFs to trade, but it still makes money and that is what our goal is.

Anyways natural gas has found some support and is bouncing around. We could see it trend sideways or up until a test of our blue resistance trend line is reached. From there we can asses the situation for a possible trade.

The underlying trend is down on the monthly and weekly charts so do not get too excited about going long anytime soon.

UNg Natural Gas Trade

ETF Trading Conclusion:
Overall the market feels a little top heavy and the price action on the charts are saying the same thing. My short term indicators are telling me the Dow (DIA fund) is over bought and ready for a couple days of selling. With any luck we will see a test of support which will flush out most short term traders this week, then a nice low volume rally going into Christmas. On the other hand, the market has been holding up well and prices could continue to drift higher from here. If that is the case we simply continue to hold our current long positions and enjoy the ride.

Silver and gold are testing support levels and if the market continues to rally here, I figure precious metals will follow. But if we see stocks pull back and test support, then we will most likely see the metals pull back further also.

Crude oil has formed a scary looking chart as it flushes out traders on this recent drop. My general rule for spec plays is to buy when the chart looks scary, but is trading at multiple support levels. It is very difficult to buy at these levels but as my good buddy David Banister from ActiveTradingPartners.com always says, “Buy when they Cry, Sell when it’s Loud”. Meaning buy when everyone is panicking out of their positions, and sell when everyone is buying into the move usually seen by high volume levels and much higher prices.

Natural Gas is jumping around like crazy. We continue to wait for a tradable price pattern to form in conjunction with a support or resistance level to help put the odds more on our side.

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Chris Vermeulen
www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

December 13, 2009

Daily Market Trades, Gold ETF Analysis, Oil ETF Analysis, Silver ETF Analysis, Trading Education

ETF Trading Gold Oil and the Index

December 9th, 2009
Etf trading has made it so easy for traders and investors to get maximum exposure to the entire market without the high fees of mutual funds and manager. There are now etfs covering almost every investment type whether it’s stocks, indexes, sectors, commodities, bonds, real estate, currencies etc…

In this short report I will quickly show a few charts on what is happening for precious metals and energy.

HUI – Gold Stock
This monthly chart of the gold stocks index you can see how easy it is to trade the market and avoid large sell offs when using technical analysis. Currently gold stocks are in a bull market, testing the 2008 highs. Until we are proven wrong buying stocks after a pullback is a winning strategy.

Gold Stocks Trading

Trading the GLD ETF
We have been in the GLD etf for a few months as we ride this bull to new highs. This chart clearly shows how buying dips in a bull market can really pay off. I do have certain criteria which must be met before buying dips so I know the odds are in my favor.

Gold ETF Alert

ETF Trade Silver
Silver along with gold and oil are looking ready for an oversold bounce. I don’t think prices will jump and rally higher right out of the gate but eventually I feel the will head higher.

SLV Trading Newsletter

Crude Oil Fund Trade
Crude oil looks prime for the picking. It is currently oversold and testing 2 support levels. The downside momentum is still strong so this selling could last another 1-2 days but I’m expecting it to soon.

This is not a low risk setup. This is more of a short term aggressive contrarian play. For those of you who like heart pounding plays ?

USO Fund Trade

Natural Gas Fund Chart
Natural gas has been taking its time to bottom. Virtually every bottom picker has been burned this year. I am starting to hear everyone get more bearish on it again which is great! It should bottom any day then! LOL….

Seriously it cannot get much more bearish for gas. We don’t have enough space to store it and companies are finding more natural gas in the ground every day. Because it sounds like a terrible investment it must be getting close to a bottom. If this is the start of a flat basing pattern, then I expect it could drag out for a few months before actually making a nice move up.

UNG Nat Gas Trend

Dow Jones DIA ETF
The Dow looks similar to gold and silver. I feel we are ready for a 1-2 day bounce then we go a little lower to shake traders out of the market before heading higher.

DIA ETF Trading

ETF Trading Conclusion:
Gold stocks and the broad market are in a bull market. The recent pullback has many traders worried. I think this an opportunity to bet into some positions before the next rally. Buying the dips in a bull market is a low risk trade until proven wrong. I think we still have more of a pullback yet but then we could have a very profitable year end Xmas rally.

Natural Gas is just bumping along bottom I think. Not expecting any trade for a few weeks anyways.

Crude Oil looks like its ready for a move whether it is a 1-2 day bounce or the start of a new leg higher. If you loot at late Sept you can see USO broke down on heavy volume shaking most traders out of their positions just before the next leg higher, and this is what I feel it is doing now. Only time will tell.

Let’s see how the second half of this week unfolds.

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Chris Vermeulen
www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

December 9, 2009

Gold ETF Analysis, Oil ETF Analysis, Silver ETF Analysis, Trading Education

Do Stocks and Commodity ETFs Take a Pause or Melt Down?

Dec 6th, 2009
The first half of last week started out strong with stock and precious metal ETFs moving higher. The week ended with less certainty of direction. The energy sector underperformed the market with crude oil and natural gas moving lower.

Below are some ETF charts showing where the broad market and commodities are trading with some analysis showing what could transpire going into the year end holiday season.

DIA ETF – Daily Trading Chart
The DIA ETF that I am using to represent the Dow Industrial Average looks to be over bought and ready for a pullback. The broadening formation indicates volatility is rising and that the bulls are losing control. This pattern occurs in all time frames and in stocks, commodities and exchange traded funds. Remember this pattern when looking at charts as it could save you some money.

Using simple analysis we can see where the Dow is likely to test. With any luck this could happen quickly and be followed by a nice low volume rally going into to the holiday.

DIA ETF Trading

GLD Gold Exchange Traded Fund – Daily & Weekly Charts
Gold had a huge rally the first half of the week but gave it all back and then some on Friday. I have been warning about this sharp profit taking correction for a few days making sure everyone had tightened their stops or started to trim their positions. We locked in a nice 11.9% gain on Friday as our stop for GLD was triggered.

GLD fund is likely to trade in one of two scenarios this week:
1. Move side-ways after last week’s sell off
2. Or continue moving down as investors and short term traders review Friday’s action and place their sell orders for Monday.

Take a look at the small weekly chart which is located within the daily chart below. We had a very big volume week and a reversal candle indicating a shift in momentum. If we are lucky this could be a quick pause before another move up, but I am thinking gold will need several weeks to gain its footing. Only time will tell, and either way we will be ready.

GLD Exchange Trade Fund Alerts

SLV Fund – Daily & Weekly Charts
Silver had a sharp pullback with gold on Friday but because silver did not have investors tripping over each other trying to buy it like gold, the sell off was much more controlled. Silver breached the lower trend channel line but closed back above it to end the week.

Silver is trading at the lower level of its trend channel and at a support level. There is a good change it will bounce Monday or Tuesday. But until we see what gold is doing at the open Monday morning I would not be jumping into anything at this point.

The weekly chart shows a reversal candle signaling strong selling pressure and this is the reason I would not be buying here. Let’s watch for a few days and see what happens.

SLV Trading Analysis

USO Oil Fund – Weekly Charts
Crude oil has been weak the past 2 months as it drifts sideways from the October breakout. Not much to say here other than let’s wait for some action and a low risk setup.

USO Oil Fund

UNG Natural Gas Fund – 60 Minute and Weekly Chart
This year I think natural gas has taken more money from traders than any other fund. Virtually everyone has been burned by this extremely over sold commodity. The 60 minute chart shows three resistance levels. But if you combine all of them there is significant resistance from $8.80 – $9.25. That is the test of the August lows.

We reached the August lows and that is what triggered the bounce and short covering rally 2 weeks ago. We have now seen prices slip below that level on rising volume which is bearish. With prices below this major resistance level I think we will see sellers step in on each bounce to push prices back down.

UNG Natural Gas Trading Fund

Stocks and Commodity ETF Trading Conclusion:
The broad stock market looks ready for a small correction. That being said the tape does not lie and we continue to see money flow into stocks which is why the dow, sp500 and Russell 2000 are holding up well. These crossed signals are the reason money/position management is so important for traders. Scaling in and out of positions during oversold and overbought conditions is crucial for pulling money out of the market consistently.

I do this by tightening my stop to lock in a gain on 25-50% of my position, while holding a core position in the event prices continue to rise. This way I make a premium on part of my trade and have my stop moved to break even or higher for the core position allowing it some wiggle room as prices consolidate before the next leg higher.

Gold and silver could go either way quickly this week. We have locked in some good money last week and now we hold our core position. From here I expect the gold and silver to play out in one of three ways:
1. Prices continue higher and we ride our core positions for larger gains.
2. Price continues to correct and we get another low risk entry point to add to our core position, then prices rally.
3. Or, precious metals have a melt down and we take a small 5% gain on our core position.

Crude Oil and Natural Gas are not tradable at this time. We need to see more price action before a high probability setup will develop. Let’s watch and wait these out some more.

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Chris Vermeulen
www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

December 6, 2009

Daily Market Trades, Gold ETF Analysis, Oil ETF Analysis, Silver ETF Analysis, Trading Education

Tis the Season to Trade the Seasonal Charts, Dow, Gold, Silver, Oil and Gas

Dec 2nd, 2009
The market has had a fantastic week so far for stocks and precious metals. The financial and energy sector are underperforming which is a concern, but we continue to hold our positions and will wait until a reversal to lock in our gains.

Things seem to be lining up for stocks and precious metals to take a breather, which is in line with the Dow Jones Seasonal chart below.

Let’s take a look…

Dow Jones ETF
You can see from looking at the chart the repeated pattern of price rallies, leading to exhaustion and a test of support, followed by another repeat of the pattern. It looks as if the broad market is setup for a test of support which could happen within 2-4 days. Then as we near the holiday prices will start to drift higher. This pattern occurs more often than not as seen on the Dow Jones Seasonal chart below.

Broad Market Holiday Rally

Dow Jones Seasonal Trends
This chart clearly shows weakness in the first half of December and continued strength moving forward. This has not really happened in the past two years which means we are overdue for continued strength. ?

That being said, the previous two years were bear markets and we are now in a bull market. So the tendency is for buying to continue into year end.

Dow Jones Seasonal Trends

GLD ETF Fund
Gold continues to push higher surprising many of us. It seems as though money is rushing into metals and buyers are not particularly concern about price. While this is great for short term traders and those of us in the trade, we must remember that the faster things go up, the quicker they correct.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think gold is going to crash, I just think we could get a 10% correction before moving much higher. Gold is also trading near the upper end of the trend channel and could have a 2-4 day consolidation with the broad market before pushing much higher.

GLD ETF Trading

SLV Exchange Traded Fund
Silver has been underperforming yellow gold but is still a solid investment. It is also trading near the upper end of the trend channel and could have a 2-4 day consolidation with the broad market.

Silver ETF Trade

USO & UNG Funds
Oil continues to flag from its breakout back in October. This is a bullish pattern. Last Friday we saw oil open much lower then rally back into the trend channel. This is called an outside day and many times this happens to stocks and commodities as it shakes out the weak traders before starting another rally higher. We will keep a close eye for any low risk entry point.

Natural Gas had a nice rally last week which I mentioned looks a lot like a short covering rally. The price action this week suggests it was and has now made a new low. Today on CNBC it was reported that a new source of natural gas has been discovered. This resource is 20 times larger than the biggest source in the US. Enough gas to last the US over 100 years. This added to the selling on both natural gas and oil today.

Energy ETF Newsletter

Trading Conclusion:
Precious metals continue to perform well and it’s important to note that PM stocks are now moving higher with gold. They have been lagging for some time but are on fire again. Great to see!

The Dow Jones index and several others look ready for a breather. The timing of these overbought charts bodes well for the seasonal December pause before the holiday rally. Time will tell.

Energy and financials are both underperforming the market and without their participation we will not see the indexes move much higher.

Continue to hold precious metals positions but be ready to lock in profits if we see the market reverse sharply. I am watching energy for a play but no setups at this time.

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Chris Vermeulen
www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

December 2, 2009

Daily Market Trades, Gold ETF Analysis, Oil ETF Analysis, Silver ETF Analysis, Trading Education

The Dow, Dollar & Gold – What Goes Down Must Come Up

This year has been a very exiting time for traders and investors. We have seen a steady climb in prices with controlled pullbacks in the broad market and gold.

Using technical analysis we are able to quickly and accurately make informed decisions just from looking at the charts. In the charts below you will see how simple chart patterns along with support & resistance levels can provide excellent low risk entry points. Also you will see how candle stick charts can be an early indicator for prices to reverse direction.

DIA ETF – Daily
The DIA (Dow Jones Index Fund) is trending higher. By applying some basic technical analysis you are able to time your entry points having the odds in your favor.

In this chart I use two simple forms of analysis. The broadening formation (red trend lines), and horizontal support zones shown in blue.

Broadening Formations: This is when the price becomes more volatile making higher highs and lower lows. I think of it as one of those Megaphones for talking to large groups of people. So when a chart has this pattern it’s virtually yelling at me and I start taking profits or tightening my stops.

Horizontal Support Zones: I like to focus on support or resistance zones which are a little different than most traders. I do not use the top and bottoms of previous waves for these levels. Instead I take the average price then expect the support level to be penetrated somewhat as the level is tested. This is how the market keeps you out of the good trades. I cover this in great detail in my Stock Market Trading Education Course available in January.

Analysis: The DIA ETF looks ready for a pullback to the $99- 100 level.

DIA ETF

GLD Exchange Traded Fund – Weekly
Gold has been on fire and riding this wave up has been very profitable thus far. Last week a doji candle was formed on the chart and this can signal a change in short term price action.

This chart shows some of the past doji candles and what happened to the price of gold soon after. What this candle is telling us is that the buying and selling pressure is equal. So we know momentum is slowing and we should expect a consolidation or correction.

Because gold has rocketed higher, indeed going almost straight up in the recent weeks, I expect a pullback to be very quick. A drop to the $110 or even the $100 level in the coming weeks is not out of the question, but we all know commodities can go parabolic for several months (straight up). This is why we continue to tighten our stops and keep holding out long positions.

Gold Exchange Traded Fund

US Dollar – Weekly
The US dollar has been up and down like a yo-yo in the past 15 months. The chart below clearly shows what has been happening with this currency and what I think we could see very soon.

The blue support zone (73-74) is a key pivot point for the dollar. That being said lets take a look at the chart.

During the time when the price is trending higher July 2008 – Feb 2009 we see lower wicks appear more often. This tells me that sellers pushed the price down early in the week but were then overcome by buyers nearer the end of the week. This is bullish price action. Also the broadening patterns during this timeframe’s tops indicate increased volatility and we know that is a sign of weakness.

From March 2009 – Sept 2009 the trend was down and there are longer upper wicks telling us buyers became over powered by sellers each time the price rallied.

In the recent 3 months we observe lower wicks meaning buyers are moving into the US dollar again. Knowing that there is major support below the current price I have to think the dollar could start to bottom around this level.

US Dollar Trading

Trading Conclusion:
The broad market is becoming unstable and looks like it could have more of a pullback this week. I would not be adding to any long positions until we see the market trading near support. Three out of four stocks move with the market so it is crucial to understand the overall market direction when buying and selling stocks and commodities.

Gold is trading at a level which is fuzzy. The weekly chart is neutral and the daily chart is still on fire as it moves up. All we can do is ride our positions and keep raising our stop prices.

The US dollar could start to bottom over the next few weeks. Depending what happens with Dubai this week we could be in for a big bounce in the dollar as investors flock to safety as the US dollar is still the currency of choice if/when other countries start to have a financial melt down again.

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Chris Vermeulen
www.TheGoldAndOilGuy.com

November 29, 2009

Daily Market Trades, Gold ETF Analysis, Oil ETF Analysis, Silver ETF Analysis, Trading Education

Weak Dollar Boosts Commodities – So What’s Next?

Another fantastic week for precious metals as the US dollar continues its slide lower. Energy commodities like oil and natural gas are having some difficulty finding buyers.

When commodities start to trend they become very profitable for those riding them up or down. But when a short term trend starts to virtually go straight up (parabolic) then we must be prepared for a sharp pullback. Once the price starts to slide I figure a lot of short term traders will begin locking in profits, sending gold down.

I’ve recently discovered the Money Flows table from The Wall Street Journal and I gotta say it’s awesome. My thanks to a trading buddy for bringing this resource as well as hidden gem play – DFSH – to my attention.

The Money Flow table calculates whether money is moving in or out of a stock or ETF on a given day, and whether it is selling on strength or buying on weakness. It also tells you if there are more up or down ticks. Really powerful stuff in my opinion.

For example, the GLD gold fund continued its move higher today as it must follow the underlying commodity. And though the fund traded higher institutions were selling their positions in masse. For every 9 block trades bought there were 100 block trades on the sell side. This is strong evidence that institutions/large traders are moving out of GLD. Indeed, over $161 million dollars moved out of GLD today alone and a total of $251 million dollars in the two days preceding today.

The SPY fund was 12 buy orders for every 100 sell orders. Today alone over $675 million was flowing out of SPY which his CRAZY huge.
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Check out the table: http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-mflppg-moneyflow-20091125.html?mod=mdc_pastcalendar

GLD ETF Trading – Weekly & Daily Trading Charts
Gold continues to claw its way higher as trader’s trip over each other trying to buy this shiny investment. The weekly chart clearly shows a parabolic spike. Vertical spikes like this do not last for long, but the largest percentage of the move will be made riding this trend up with a tight stop.

Gold Trader

SLV ETF Trading – Weekly & Daily Trading Charts
Silver is still trending up but lagging its big sister (yellow gold). The daily chart shows a nice mini bull flag and we could get an upside pop soon.

ETF Trading

USO Fund Trading – Weekly & Daily Charts to Trade
Crude oil just does not have people participating. The dollar is dropping yet oil continues to be dormant. It has provided several intraday plays as it trades the top and bottom of the trend channel.

Oil Trader

UNG Fund Trading – Trade the Weekly & Daily Charts
Natural gas really came to life today. It looks like people started to cover their shorts and it just kept running up for the entire session. I mentioned in a previous report that the $9 level could be a bottom and today’s reversal sure makes it look good to the eye. But if this is a short coving rally, prices are still headed lower yet.

Gas Trading

ETF Trader Conclusion:
Gold continues its incredible rally and we love every minute of it. I keep moving our stops to lock in maximum gains while providing enough wiggle room for more growth.

Silver and precious metals stocks are lagging and that is a concern. The charts look solid but I think investors are not currently willing to pay higher prices for riskier plays which include silver and precious metal stocks.

Crude oil is just drifting lower in a controlled manner. The chart looks bullish but buyers just are not in a panic to buy it right now.

Natural Gas has put in a nice bounce this week. I expect a lot of this is short covering and it could rally to the $10.50 – $11.00 area if all goes well.

The broad market is starting to look and feel over bought. We could see the market continue higher Friday because of the holiday light trading volume which virtually always moves the markets, or whatever investment is HOT, higher. This is because the large traders take time off so there are not a lot of large sellers in the market. But be ready for next week because these nice lofty prices could start tumbling down.

I just want to wish everyone a great holiday!

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Chris Vermeulen
www.GoldAndOilGuy.com

November 26, 2009