Suffice it to say, gold has now experienced a technical break to the downside and has some chart damage to repair. Just how far and how deep this correction will go depends on the willingness of those big physical market buyers to absorb the metal coming onto the market.
The level of chart support that provided an initial downside target once $1700 gave way was the $1680 level. It failed to stem the selling acting as an upside cap to gold during the aftermarket trading once the pit session closed for the day.
My analysis suggests we have a strong band of support beginning near the $1665 region and extending towards $1658. That will need to hold to prevent another drop this time to $1640.
ON the daily chart, gold is now trading firmly below all of the major shorter term moving averages (10, 20, 50 day) with both the 10 day and the 20 day having made bearish downside crosses below the 50 day. That means the posture of the market is now bearish. The metal is closing in on the longer dated moving averages. The 100 day comes in just below today's low at $1670 and should provide a temporary respite from the selling. If it does not however, the all important 200 day moving average comes into play. That currently is at $1666.
I wish to point out that the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the entire rally from off the May low, at the $1664 level, is in very close proximity to the 200 day moving average noted above. That will tend to reinforce this level as an expected strong buying level.
As also noted above, if this level fails to hold the metal, then it will drop towards $1640 and just below. You can see both a horizontal support level that I have drawn going back to late May. Interestingly enough, the next important Fibonacci retracement level, the 61.8% retracement, comes in very near there at $1633. That zone, as far as I can see things currently, is the absolute bottom of this correction barring any change in monetary accomodation, something which seems highly unlikely given the tenuous nature of the economy.
I must repeat something I wrote earlier this week, namely, the US election could ultimately prove to be very influential on gold. I am of the firm opinion that should Governor Romney win, given his statement that he would not reappoint Ben Bernanke to the Chairmanship of the Fed, some traders might have an initial knee-jerk response to such an event by selling gold out of fear that he would appoint more of a hawk than the dovish Bernanke to that position. That being said, while the Chairman wields tremendous influence, his vote is just one of many on the FOMC. There yet remains many dovish voices on that committee and last I checked, the majority of them still seemed to be of the opinion that accomodative monetary policy, namely ultra low interest rates on out through 2014 and further QE3, will continue a change in the chairmanship notwithstanding.
One last thing about this market - taking a look at the intermediate term weekly chart shows the third failure of gold to best the formidable $1800 level going back into fall of last year. Taking out that price and holding it is the key to a fresh leg upwards to match the all time high. Once gold failed to clear this level yet again, down it went. While today is disheartening to many bulls ( to longer term oriented buyers of the physical metal it is an absolute delight) the fact is that gold is still in a RANGE TRADE and has been for well more than a solid year now. The top of this range is $1800 and the bottom of this range is $1530. It is just now approaching the middle of the range. It just so happens that the MIDDLE OF THIS RANGE IS $1665. Savvy readers will immediately catch the significance of that number when taking another look at the daily chart shown above and the support levels noted there.
Nothing has changed in regards to the longer term trend in the yellow metal; it is just marking time and meandering in a wide range for now awaiting a fresh catalyst to take it higher. I am of the firm opinion that we are going to need to see a CONFIRMED BREAKDOWN in the US long bond market before we get such a catalyst.
IN looking at the chart of the long bond you can see that is remains mired in a Range trade of its own. It has given a bit of a hint that the next big move will be lower, based on the series of lower highs (see the declining blue downtrend line) but so far support from 145^10 down towards 144 has not been tested. I maintain that once that level gives way, and I believe it will if Romney is elected (probably sometime into his second year in office) then gold will go on to make new all time highs. That is a good way's off however and a lot can change in the interim so we will continue to monitor economic and fiscal developments and hopefully react accordingly.
If Obama were to somehow dupe enough idiots to put him back into office so that he can finish his task of destroying and remaking the nation, then my thinking is that the economy will continue to sputter along with both gold and the bonds remaining in a wide range trade. I would see nothing coming from that quarter that would lead me to believe the economic activity will pick up sufficiently to generate a real fear of inflation amongst investors/traders. QE would then continue ad infinitum, ad nauseum, with periodic bouts of optimism giving way to periods of economic despair. In short, the insane volatility would continue wreaking further havoc to traders and investors as the nation plunges ever deeper into debt. At some point a currency crisis would then occur which would boost gold but oh my, at what dreadful cost!
