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How to Trade ETF Fund for Gold, Silver, Oil and Natural Gas

So far this week has been slow in regards to commodity etf funds. Gold continues to shine while silver refuses to make a move higher. Crude oil has a nice bull flag and we are waiting for a breakout and setup while natural gas continues to see selling pressure.

ETF Trading Tip: Waiting for these exchange traded funds to generate low risk setups and watching our current positions mature is the boring part of trading. It’s these slow times when traders get bored and start taking more risk by entering positions that do not have clear entry and exit points. Not having clear entry and exit points will lead to traders holding on to losing trades and not taking profits on winning trades. Be sure you enter positions which you know where you should get out if the trade goes against you and where to take some money off the table if it rallies higher.

GLD ETF Trading – Daily ETF Chart
The gold etf fund looks to be in rally mode which means when traders start to take profits we should see a sharp reversal down.

ETF Trading

ETF Trading

SLV ETF Trading – Daily ETF Chart
Silver has been under performing gold for several weeks now. I think this is because gold is the safe haven of choice be traders and investors. That being said silver generally leads gold so this is giving me a red flag. A larger correction in precious metal ETF prices could be just around the corner. But until we see a technical breakdown on the charts we are staying long.

Trading ETF Funds

Trading ETF Funds

USO Fund Trading – Daily Fund Chart
The USO oil fund broke out a few weeks ago from the large pennant pattern. The price has been flagging for about 3 weeks now. It looks like we are getting close to a low risk setup so I am keeping a close eye on this fund.

ETF Trader

ETF Trader

UNF Fund Trading – Daily Fund Chart
Natural gas continues to under perform the rest of our commodities. This fund is starting to look like another good by point but we need a few things to fall into place before that happens. Let’s not jump the gun because this fund is still in a bear market. Waiting for a setup.

How To Trade ETF Funds

How To Trade ETF Funds

ETF Trading Conclusion:
We continue to wait for trading opportunities to unfold. We focus on taking advantage of low risk setups and avoiding times the market when things are choppy and unclear.

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Chris Vermeulen

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Gold, Silver, Oil & Nat Gas Going Wild!

Nov 4th, 2009
Precious Metals ETF have gone wild the past 2 weeks. Last week we saw gold and silver prices drop sharply as it shook out short term trader’s stop orders before breaking out and moving higher. Also there is a disconnect between the gold and the dollar.

Energy commodities like natural gas and crude oil are moving in opposite directions and look to be picking up speed. Natural gas is losing pressure and oil is on fire.

GLD ETF Trading – Pivot Trading Low
Last week we had our pivot trading low generate another buy signal for gold. Trading pivot lows is a simple trading strategy. I call them low risk setups and take advantage of buying a stock, commodity or currency after a pullback to support and when a reversal candle is formed. This chart clearly shows when you are trading with the trend buying on the dips is generally a low risk play with great up side potential.

Gold Bull Market Pivot Trading Low

Gold Bull Market Pivot Trading Low

Precious Metals ETF Trading – Gold Bullion Takes Control
This is a chart which shows the performance of gold stocks (red), silver bullion (blue) and gold bullion (green). As you can see the past 2 weeks while the market has been selling down precious metals stocks have been hit harder than silver and gold.

Because of the heavy selling in stocks recently the smart money had been going into commodities especially gold bullion. Gold stocks are a great play but this is telling us investors feel safer in physical bullion than stocks.

Gold is the most known precious metal and safe haven which is why it’s holding value better than silver and stocks. This week we are seeing gold become more valuable in several major currencies which means gold is actually making a real move higher.

Gold Bullion, Silver Bullion, Precious Metal Stocks

Gold Bullion, Silver Bullion, Precious Metal Stocks

USO ETF Trading – Breakout & Bull Flag
Crude oil has had some great breakouts this year and it looks like we are about to get another buy signal shortly. We had a breakout in Oct from the large pennant and are now flagging which is very bullish. We could see USO reach $50 in the next month or two.

Crude Oil Bull Market Breakout

Crude Oil Bull Market Breakout

UNG ETF Trading – Pivot Low or Waterfall Sell Off?
Natural gas is at a crucial level for a higher low bounce or another massive panic sell off. Trading right now with UNG is a 50/50 shot so we will just have to wait and let things unfold more before taking any action.

Natural Gas Pivot Low Bear Market

Natural Gas Pivot Low Bear Market


The Stock Markets, Precious Metals & Energy Trading Conclusion:
The market is starting to feel a little squirmy as it tries to find support. Small cap stocks continue to get crushed while blue chip (large cap) stocks are holding more of their value. Gold has broken higher this week while silver and precious metal stocks under perform their big sister Yellow Gold.

Crude oil is holding up nicely forming a 3 week bull flag and showing signs of life while natural gas continues to get hammered.

The market has been jumpy the past 2 weeks because market participants are very uneasy about the future direction of the US dollar.

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Chris Vermeulen

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Are Gold, Oil and the S&P500 having a Seasonal Pivot Trading Low?

Nov 1, 2009
The last week of October was something else. Heavy fiscal year end selling for mutual funds seemed to put a damper on good news and push stocks and commodities lower. October is historically a tough month on the US market with mutual funds locking in profits on their books.

Below are some charts showing my analysis on gold, silver, oil, natural gas and the S&P 500 index along with a seasonality chart proving that October has more selling pressure than other months.

Gold GLD ETF – Gold Pivot Trading Low – Daily Chart
As you can see from the chart below we appear to be in the middle of a pivot low correction which can make for some great entry points. The trend is up, gold is oversold and it looks like we had a reversal low last week.

Gold Pivot Trading Low

Gold Pivot Trading Low

Silver SLV ETF – Silver Pivot Trading Low – Weekly Chart
This is a chart I posted a couple months ago and so far silver has traded within the trend lines and support & resistance levels I pointed out in early August. Silver still looks bullish as it is trading at a pivot low.

Pivot Trading Low for Silver

Pivot Trading Low for Silver

Gold Miners GDX ETF – Gold Miners Pivot Trading Low – Weekly Chart
Gold mining stocks appear to be trading near the bottom of the trend channel. The odds are still pointing to higher prices.

Gold Miners Trading Pivot Low

Gold Miners Trading Pivot Low

Crude Oil USO Fund – Oil Pivot Trading Low – Daily Chart
This chart of USO is also from a recent post in early October. USO broke out and is now trading at our support trend lines. There was a nice reversal candle last week but the heavy selling across the entire market pulled oil back down.

Crude Oil Pivot Low

Crude Oil Pivot Low

Natural Gas UNG Fund – Natural Gas Pivot Trading Low – Daily Chart
Pivot trading low could be close for UNG. The daily chart is telling me we saw the bottom in natural gas back in September as prices collapsed washing out most long (bullish) traders. I figure we will see prices trade between $9-12 for several months as the commodity forms a base.

Natural Gas Pivot Trading Low

Natural Gas Pivot Trading Low

S&P 500 Index – S&P 500 Pivot Trading Low – Daily Chart
The broad market looks and feels oversold. This chart uses Andrews Pitchfork analysis to show where short term pullbacks to the middle trend line (middle of trading range) have been a buying opportunity. Deeper corrections drop to the bottom support trend channel. These corrections sometimes form a lower low and lower high that scares traders and inestors out of the market before heading higher.

SPX Pivot Low

SPX Pivot Low

S&P 500 Seasonality Chart – S&P 500 Pivot Trading Low
This chart shows the performance for each month over the past 37 years. Simple analysis shows selling pressure in Sept and Oct as mutual funds sell positions to lock in gains for their books each year. This move is generally compounded because seasoned traders know about this seasonal movement and also sell positions and even short the market to take advantage of this at times.

I think we are inline for a perfect storm going into year end. The market is trading at a pivot low from many different analysis theories. This forms a high probability trading opportunity in the next 2 months if we see prices reverse and start heading higher this month.

SPX Seasonal Trend Pivot Points

SPX Seasonal Trend Pivot Points

Pivot Trading Low Conclusion:
A lot of stocks have taken a real beating this past month as sell orders flooded the trading desks last week. Technology, financials and small cap stocks took is the worst. The sharp drop is not really what we wanted to see but it makes good sense. With those groups posting the largest gains since March it is only normal that money will be coming out of those stocks to lock in gains.

Many traders are starting to panic about another possible market melt down. This negative sentiment is a bullish indicator for higher prices. If everyone is scared and exiting their positions then we must be close to trading a pivot low.

I am still bullish on the market and will be looking for new opportunities if we see prices start to head higher this month.

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Chris Vermeulen

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Commodities & Stocks Ready to Bounce or Rally?

Commodities and stocks almost look ready for a rally or at least a relief bounce. The market is down over 5% and the normal pullback this year has been 4%. Using technical analysis and inter-market analysis we can see that the market is reaching extreme lows and this usually means we are only a couple days away from a rally.

I work with several market technicians as we all analyze the market a different way and share our work with each other to gain maximum insight on the broad market moves. We analyze momentum cycles, magnetic cycles, volatility levels, support & resistance levels, volume analysis and inter-market analysis.

Each of us has found a formula which works for our individual style of trading. And by combining our work we have found that we can collectively produce some very exciting trading signals for the broad market. We focus on leveraged index funds in order to take advantage of our insights. While nothing in trading is ever perfect, the analysis for timing the broad market is very exciting.

Here are some quick charts on where the market is trading.

US Dollar – Daily Dollar Price Chart
This chart is a no brainer. The trend is down and trading at resistance. If the US dollar reverses back down we will see stocks and commodities move higher.

US Dollar Index Trade

US Dollar Index Trade

VIX – Daily Volatility Index
Again, overall the trend is down and trading at resistance. As the saying goes “When the VIX is high its time to buy”. Just to be clear, the VIX is low compared to the previous highs set back in 2008 which was around the 80 level. But, if we want to keep things simple for the current trend then the VIX is high for our current market condition. The VIX moves in the opposite direction of the equities market.

VIX - Volatility Index Trade

VIX - Volatility Index Trade

DIA – Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Fund
Here is the Dow Jones index fund and it clearly shows that when investors are selling out of their positions and getting scared of a market collapse, volume rockets higher. When we see the price pullback to possible support levels and volume increases that is a time when we should be looking to scale into a long position for a bounce, such as now.

Dow Jones Index Trade

Dow Jones Index Trade

XLE – Energy Sector ETF
You can see that the energy sector is very close to a support level and volume is high. With the US dollar about to reverse back down it will help boost this sector as it is tied in with commodity prices which rise with a falling dollar. I expect we will see a price gap lower and fill this area before moving higher.

Energy Sector XLE Trade

Energy Sector XLE Trade

GLD – Gold ETF Fund & Silver
This chart has not changed much from last weeks report. We are getting the drop as expected this week. We could see the gap fill from early October before gold stabilizes.

Silver is in the same situation. Gold and silver move in tandem so we are waiting for a bottom before looking for a low risk entry point.

Gold and Silver Trading Tends

Gold and Silver Trading Tends

Commodity & Stocks Trading Conclusion:
To keep things short and to the point, I am seeing momentum cycle lows as of today, magnetic wave lows today, and most commodities and indexes trading at support. These observations, coupled with the US dollar at a possible resistance level and market volatility spiking to an extreme high, lead me think a bounce is in the cards.

The market has had an amazing rally so far this year and I feel that we will have a solid year end rally going into Christmas. That being said, the recent sharp correction could form an ABC retrace pattern which means we get a bounce in the next week or so, then one more multi day sell off which will scare even more bulls out of the market. I am going to be scaling out of this oversold play quickly to lock in some gains while allowing a smaller position to ride for larger gains.

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Chris Vermeulen

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Mid Week Gold, Silver, Oil and Nat Gas Trading Report

Commodities so far this week have not changed much. But I can point out a few things for us to watch Thursday and Friday.

Precious Metals – Gold GLD fund – Silver SLV Fund – PM Stocks GDX Fund
We could start to see a shift between the price relationship between gold and the broad market. I pointed this out last week mentioning that gold and silver are starting to hold up in value while stocks sell off on big days. For example, Wednesday’s sell-off in equities did not have much effect on precious metals. This is what we want to see. It means money is moving out of stocks and into gold and silver bullion as a safe haven.

These three charts of GLD, SLV and GDX show Wednesday’s price action as gold and silver moved higher while precious metal stocks sold down with the rest of the market. This is generally a bearish indicator for gold and silver but because I am starting to see this happen more often and traders are ready for the market to top any day, I am seeing this as a bullish indicator. If the market starts to slide I have a feeling investors will be dumping a lot more money into gold and silver.

Gold, Silver, Precious Metals Stocks

Gold, Silver, Precious Metals Stocks

Energy – Oil USO Fund – Energy Stocks XLE Fund
We are seeing a similar pattern in the energy sector. Oil had a nice move higher today while energy stocks sold off. Stocks are starting to fall out of favor.

Energy Oil Stocks

Energy Oil Stocks

Natural Gas – UNG Fund
Natural gas is still in a bear market and trading under a major resistance trend line. This commodity could go either way so I am going to wait for the odds to be more on my side before jumping on board with a long or a short trade.

Natural Gas UNG Fund

Natural Gas UNG Fund

Mid-Week Gold, Silver, Oil and Nat Gas Conclusion:
The market is starting to look and feel top heavy with many indicators and price action patterns giving cross signals. While the market could continue to rocket higher with new money getting dumped in from average investors because of solid 3rd quarter earnings, we must be cautious by tightening our stops and take some profits off the table. Until we get a short term oversold market condition I am trading very conservatively.

Waiting for a good trade is crucial in trading. If you always want to trade and force positions when the market is choppy you end up with lower probability trades.

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Chris