Posts

Has the Trap Been Set

We finally have some movement within the gold complex, and for a welcomed change, it’s to the upside. It has been dicey lately, as the back and forth daily swings have been unnerving. It’s not common within bear markets to see an asset form a Cycle Low and then just take off to the upside. This is why anyone trading the precious metals sector needs to understand that the Long traders carry with them a lot of anxiety. Past experiences have them guarded, which is why we see these frequent quick intra-day reversals…they’re spooked far too easily.

Fortunately, we are into the timing band for these big Cycle Low events now. Within this report, I bolster the idea that we’re seeing evidence to support these lows as having pasted already. Shifting the main question now away from whether we have new Cycle’s in play over to a discussion on what these Cycles could potentially bring.

Almost since the day it occurred, I have expected the big surge back on Nov 7th to be marked as a Daily Cycle Low (DCL). And with Friday’s repeat (upside) performance of the prior Friday, the $30 move finally marked a Daily Swing Low and a clean break of the declining trend-line. Along with the clear and bullish rise in our technical indicators, it’s safe to say that gold is into a new Daily Cycle.

 

11-15 gold daily

The miners are confirming this gold move and are encouragingly leading the Cycle again. The back and forth volatility this past week was worrying; in the sense they were showing us a potential gold decline was at hand. The mini triangle pattern, resulting from all this volatility did eventually resolve itself, with the miners convincingly breaking higher as confirmation gold was in a new Daily Cycle.

I’m encouraged by the action within the miners because back on Nov 5th they did find a low 2 days before gold did. The sell-off they experienced, leading into that low, was of the extreme capitulation variety seen only during major (Yearly and Cyclical) Cycle turns. And because we’re in the timing band for a gold Investor and Yearly Cycle Low, this early recovery off a 40% “crash” is suggesting that we have found, in the least, an Investor Cycle bottom.

 

11-15 GDX daily

I presented the below gold to miners ratio chart a few weeks ago (members site) as a way to represent just how much the miners had been sold relative to gold. I find this chart important, not because it necessarily predicts where gold is heading, but that during major declines, the miners are sold-off indiscriminately and with extreme prejudice.

It is clear from the chart that relative to gold, the miners became the most undervalued in over 20 years. Having already decline some 65% up until this past summer, the miners since crash another 40% within the past 8 weeks, a classic capitulation event that I can only equate to events on (or bigger than) the scale seen during the 2000 and 2008 bear market lows. I’m showing the chart again because the reversal shown by the miners this week holds promise of a much bigger turn. In all past cases, reversals on the ratio chart after massive vertical peak have always marked at least a Yearly Cycle Low.

 

11-15 Gold to miners ratio

So we have rock solid action to support a new Daily Cycle. But on the weekly chart, that new Daily Cycle barely registers, except that it shows up as a pair of bullish hammer candles comfortably into the timing band for a Cycle Low. Although we can project our expectations, based on this ancillary evidence, the reality is that it just takes patience when waiting for actual confirmation of a new Investor Cycle.

At this point, seeing a new Daily Cycle is encouraging, because it holds the promise of marking a Cycle Low at the longer time-frames too. A DCL is after-all a prerequisite for any new Investor and Yearly Cycle Low, they are intertwined. Although the move so far has been (intra-day) volatile, gold has managed to close out the week with a Weekly Swing Low in place. The foundation stones have been laid.

 

11-15 Gold Weekly

What I like about this move is that nobody expects it to do much or go far. A long and punishing bear market has set the scene for a much larger counter-trend rally here. Yes, obviously caution is recommended, a bear market surprises to the downside with uncanny and unforgiving consistency.

But I like the setup, because it’s exactly the type of contrarian environment that should support a powerful counter-trend rally. I particularly like the fact that gold dropped below the June 2013 lows, that technical break-down automatically turned a large percentage of technical traders against the sector. In past reports, over a month ago (see chart below from public post “Gold Will Surprise in More Ways Than One“, I had stated that losing the June 2013 Lows was potentially the more bullish scenario, because that development offered up the potential for a significant bear trap. I have found that many bear markets end on such technical break-downs, as the break-down encourages so many more speculators to join the foray on the short side. It’s akin to that final vertical spike in a bull market.

“Bear traps often proceed major market moves” – Early Oct chart.

 

Gold Oct bear Trap

As a result of seeing fresh 4 year lows, the COT report shows that a significant gold short position has amassed. We’re at the level (near record) where Cycle Lows form, mainly because the position again gold is such that little further upside will set off a massive short squeeze. I always try to end with a balanced viewpoint, which is why I will remind everyone that the bear market demands respect. But it’s been all down for so long and it’s time for the Cycle to reverse. Form what I can tell, a new Investor and Yearly Cycle rally is now in progress, this outlook I favor with much more confidence this week.

The Financial Tap publishes two member reports per week, a weekly premium report and a midweek market update report. The reports cover the movements and trading opportunities of the Gold, S&P, Oil, $USD, US Bond’s, and Natural Gas Cycles. Along with these reports, members enjoy access to two different portfolios and trade alerts. Both portfolios trade on varying time-frames (from days, weeks, to months), there is a portfolio to suit all member preferences.

View the Site: The Financial Tap

You’re just 1 minute away from profitable trades! please visit:  https://thefinancialtap.com/landing/try#

Feel free to share this post via the below social media avenues.

Back and Forth

This content is for members only

Midweek Market Update – Nov 12th

This content is for members only

Can It Be Trusted

This content is for members only

Midweek Market Update – Nov 5th

This content is for members only

You Want War!

This content is for members only

Midweek Market Update – Oct 29th

This content is for members only

It’s a Matter of Trust

This content is for members only

Midweek Market Update – Oct 22nd

This content is for members only

Crude Oil is Hitting Bottom

In the past, we’ve discussed at length the structural problems facing Crude. So the pressure the energy markets are under, both from the demand and supply sides, should come as no surprise. This double whammy to the Crude market is not likely to be resolved overnight; demand-supply issues require time to work through a market.

Through hydraulic fracking and a massive influx of investment capital, the US has again become a major oil producer. But it’s the speed with which new supply from the US has come on line that has taken the market by surprise and rocked prices.

The 4 million plus barrels of extra oil that the US is suddenly producing is causing a problem for exporters like Saudi Arabia, who now need to find new markets for their oil. Most of the world’s oil is not sold in futures contracts for delivery one to three months out. Rather oil contracts are long term in nature, made over 1 to 3 year periods. And the competition for existing oil markets has been fierce, forcing suppliers to drastically cut their prices relative to spot.

As the price of oil begins to fall, oil producing nations, most of whom are ill-equipped to handle sub-$80 pricing, will likely try to offset the revenue lost through lower prices by raising their production. Saudi Arabia, the only nation capable of meaningfully cutting production, has stated that it will likely increase production to maintain its revenue levels. The other nations capable of possibly cutting production are Iraq, Iran and Venezuela, but all have economic issues that make any cut (without general consensus) very unlikely.

This should only perpetuate the glut of supply into 2015, setting the scene for much further declines in price as the markets are faced with continuing demand problems. If the European recession turns into a continent-wide event, its impacts on the world economy and, by extension, the demand for oil will put Crude prices under even more severe pressure.

Judging by the Daily chart reversal in the energy stocks in the past 4 days, there is a good chance that Crude has finally hit (an intermediate time-frame) bottom. As outlined earlier, I’m not bullish on Crude’s longer term prospects, but the current sell-off has been severe, and is likely over for now. Given the uncertainty in the Crude markets, we need to see a close above the 10dma and Crude to form a Swing Low ($84.93).  Once that occurs, it’s likely that a counter-trend bounce will move price back to at least the $90 level.

 

10-22 Crude Oil

This sell-off has been extreme and much deeper than a standard ICL. The depth of the energy sector sell-off is on par with the last, big general market correction in 2011. The entire sector is now extremely oversold and should experience a decent rally during the next few weeks. But as in 2011, we don’t know is whether the current move down is just the beginning of a deeper decline.

 

10-22 Energy Bullish Percent Index

Crude’s weakness isn’t surprising – sentiment has collapsed to near record low levels, below even those from late 2008. Based on the overdue nature of Crude’s Investor Cycle Low, extremely low sentiment readings are suggesting that, at the very least, a new Investor Cycle (this Cycle averages 20-24 weeks) rally is about to begin. In the past, at similar sentiment levels, a sell-off comparable to what we’ve seen would have marked the low for the Yearly Cycle. So as with the equity markets, Crude is seeing lows deep enough to spawn a multi-month rally. But we also have evidence that suggests that a structural decline is now in progress.

 

10-18_Crude_Sentiment

It’s clear that an extended 46 week Cycle is (or has already) coming to an end. The final 3 weeks yielded $12 in declines, clearly Yearly Cycle capitulation selling. If it hasn’t happened already, a new Investor Cycle will soon launch, so we’re faced with two questions: just how far the current Investor Cycle will rally, and whether a longer term bear market has arrived.

The presence of a new series of lower tops and lower lows on the Investor Cycle chart is suggesting that 2015 is likely to be a very challenging period for the energy markets. Like all assets, energy moves through Cycles of varying time-frames. I believe that the record investment of the past 5 years has resulted in too much production, which will lead to a period of business consolidation and bankruptcy.

 

10-18 Crude weekly

The Financial Tap publishes two member reports per week, a weekly premium report and a midweek market update report. The reports cover the movements and trading opportunities of the Gold, S&P, Oil, $USD, and US Bond Cycles. Along with these reports, members enjoy access to two different portfolios and trade alerts. Both portfolios trade on varying timeframes (from days, weeks, to months), there is a portfolio to suit all member preferences.

You’re just 1 minute away from profitable trades! please visit https://thefinancialtap.com/landing/try#

Feel free to share this post via the below social media avenues.