Silver - Nothing Doin' Yet

Yesterday silver looked as if it was setting up to make another test run at stubborn overhead resistance near the $32.50 level, the top of its recent trading range. Today - well, to put it bluntly, "nothin' doin'".

The ferocity of the retreat away from yesterday's high is a bit surprising to me given the big push higher yesterday. A couple of things - end of the month positioning is being seen in quite a bit of the markets that I regularly trade today and that is causing some pretty wild swings in price.

Secondly, the continued meltdown in the mining sector shares (HUI and XAU) is completely undermining strength in the metals over at the Comex. Any time would-be bulls get ready to make their move into the metals, they take one look at the HUI or the XAU and then go back to sleep. There is no reason to chase precious metal prices higher as long as the mining shares continue to reek.

The HUI is on track for its worst monthly close in THREE YEARS. What it will take to generate any buying of sufficient size to reverse the downtrend is unclear. Value-based buyers are present but are being overwhelmed by the non-stop selling hitting the sector. I get the sense from the price action that the shares are on the receiving end of a position among several larger players that has gone seriously awry. They are being forced out kicking and screaming but also bleeding profusely. When you continue to stretch a valuation of the HUI to gold to levels last seen more than FIVE YEARS AGO, someone is in trouble. When the overstretched rubber band finally does snap back, it will be quite fierce but as to when that might occur, I am unclear.

For now, there is still no sign of any definitive bottom in the mining sector.

For that to occur, the Comex metals are going to have to be able to cast off the share-related drag on their price and clear the top of their respective trading ranges. That has not yet been able to occur.

As you can see on the price chart below, the RSI failed, once again, to take push past the 60 level. That means the sideways range trade remains in effect.

Yesterday the market pushed strongly through the 50 day moving average; today it plunged right back down below it. It does remain at this point above the 200 day moving average; a slightly friendly development unless proven otherwise.

I am not sure what it will take to push these metals higher. Yesterday there was a rash of shortcovering and some fresh buying based on the lousy Q4 GDP number that had traders convinced that any talk of premature ending of QE4 was nonsense. Today, there was some second guessing that even with the higher unemployment claims number. Some are looking past today's numbers towards the payrolls number and are expecting to see some decent numbers. If the number comes in higher than expected, I would guess the metals will see further pressure on the idea that the Fed will cut short the QE program in spite of the backward looking GDP number. Remember, markets look forward not backward.

If the number comes in as expected or below consensus expectations, I think we can look for the metals to breathe a sign of relief as it will reinforce the idea that while the economy might be recovering somewhat, it is still not able to stand on its own two feet without continued easy money policies.

That means, we wait and see what the morrow brings. Sentiment in the shares is rotten; absolutely rotten but it can still get worse. Some keep pointing to this fact as proof that a turnaround is near. They might be right. The problem is you will need more than lousy sentiment to start a sustained rally - you need bullish enthusiasm. Haven't seen any sign of that yet.

Euro Yen Cross Continues Streaking Higher

Remember our old friend, the Euro-Yen cross from its hey day back prior to the credit crisis of 2008? We used this cross as a gauge of risk sentiment particularly during the massive Yen carry trade of that time frame. The cross came under tremendous pressure when that carry trade was unwound and the investing world was rushing into safe havens and out of speculative positions.

When the Euro was the subject of "the Euro is finished" talk during the height of the European sovereign debt crisis, this cross was hit particularly hard. However, once the ECB got into the act and the Europeans put together their bond buying program, the Euro began a steady recovery against the Yen. Thus far we are not hearing any significant chorus of monetary officials/political leaders out of the Euro Zone making noises about the strength of the Euro. That is why money keeps flowing into the Euro.

I think it is no insignificant matter than the recent rally in the US equity markets  which has seen the S&P move to a FIVE YEAR HIGH just so happens to parallel the rise in this cross. That cross has been and still remains one of the more accurate measures of risk sentiment that we have, along with the bond market of course.

Take a look at the recent action of the cross as it confirmed a bottom in November last year and the subsequent action in the S&P 500 which also rallied off a short term swing low that same month. With the exception of the selling pressure in the last few days of 2012 (based no doubt on tax related selling), the two have been moving in lockstep.

Clearly, speculative fever has been revived in regards to stocks based on this cross. The question now becomes, will the commodity sector be next? That is why as long as this cross continues higher, I am going to be very closely watching the price action of the Continuous Commodity Index or CCI. So far that index has not been following the cross higher as it actually went in the OPPOSITE direction of the cross during the month of November. However, it is beginning to show signs of paralleling the cross. If this connection, which was in exact lockstep leading up to the peak in commodities back in 2008 becomes re-established, watch for the precious metals, in particular, silver, to start more of a sustained trend higher. Let's pay close attention to this as well...

Gasoline Prices on the Rise

A mere two months ago, consumers were enjoying some of the lowest gasoline prices seen since early last summer. Call me a conspiracy nut but I no longer believe in coincidences seeing that these lower gasoline prices just so happened to strangely correspond to the lead up into the past election day.

Now that this is behind us, gasoline has been on a tear higher, along with crude oil I might add. You no doubt have noticed the increase at the pump already. Rising energy prices are something that cannot be long overlooked by those scanning the horizon for signs of inflationary pressures. I mentioned yesterday that heretofore, gold has ignored the strength in crude and the rise in distillates. That may be getting harder for it to do if this strength continues.

Remember, at some point, because of the pervasive impact of higher fuel/energy costs on nearly all segments of our economy, the price of transported goods must rise to reflect the higher costs for producers/manufacturers/distributors. When it does, the impact on the CPI should be seen. What is lagging right now is FOOD costs. You will recall that we have seen episodes in the recent past where both FOOD and ENERGY prices were rising in tandem. That occurence cannot be ignored.

For now, energy is taking the lead. We'll keep a close eye on this to see if unleaded gasoline can run as high as the $3.20 level or not.

Perhaps the stubborn refusal of energy prices to break lower is one of the factors contributing to the continued weakness in the bond markets...

The Punch Bowl Runneth Over

Fear not ye despairing lads and lassies. Surely thou wert fearful that said supply of spirits to enliven yonder punch bowl wert in peril of being dried up. Hark - the sum of all economic activity in the realm didst verily sink a fortnight plus ago. This turn of events must surely bring forth the purveyors of joy and bliss to aid thee.

Okay - I got a bit carried away - the big news, and I do mean "BIG" news this morning that has gotten the commodity sector excited and is in the process of pushing the US Dollar lower, is the fact that 4th quarter 2012 GDP actually managed to SHRINK! Yes, you got that right - it shrank! As a matter of fact, the reading was the worst since Q2 2009! Remember that we were back in an official recession during that time frame.

Ironically, and this to me is a big deal, government spending decreased and that is perhaps one of the biggest reasons for the reduction in growth. I have mentioned previously on this site that government spending was a large factor behind recent improvements in the rate of growth in this nation and that were it subtraced from the numbers, we would be showing very little in the way of actual growth. Lo and behold, I did not expect the growth rate to actually shrink were it removed from the equation.

Here is the ironic part - the US MUST REDUCE SPENDING as it is headed down a road that will certainly lead to economic ruin. When government debt is 100% of GDP it is unsustainable. Any who doubt need merely look across the Atlantic Ocean to Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, etc. Heck, even one of the French officials made the slip of the tongue in admitting the obvious, namely that France was bankrupt! While the US DEbt/GDP ratio is not yet at levels seen in the PIGS, it is most surely headed in that direction.

So guess what, if the US government attemps to rein in spending, economic growth will contract because this deficit spending by government is contributing to a large portion of the "growth" in this economy. But keep in mind, that government does not actually create wealth - it merely takes it from one sector of the economy with one hand and redistributes it to another sector with the other hand. To the extent that it adds "growth" to an economy, it is BORROWING FUTURE GROWTH INTO THE PRESENT when it deficit spends. Borrowed money must eventually be paid back and when it is in a debt-based economy. growth shrinks.


That brings us squarely back to the Fed - before this morning's GDP number was released, the world of investors were waiting with bated breath for the oracles to come forth from Delphi and issue their prophetic insight into the state of the US economy. Another duller way of saying this is that the conclusion of the FOMC meeting is today and the market was waiting for what statements would come out of that. Prior to today's GDP report, there were genuine fears of a curtailment in the QE4 program coming sooner rather than later. Today's GDP number should put those fears to rest.

This is what has gotten both gold and silver in such a tizzy this AM. Hedge fund shorts in silver in particular, that were put on below $31 are now being forced out. Same goes for gold shorts by hedge funds that were put on below $1660, those too are being covered. The reason? Traders are now revising their views of any premature end to QE4; based on today's contraction, it ain't gonna happen anytime soon.

I am going to wait until later in the day to see how the pit session closes and in particular, how the S&P 500 REACTS  before doing any charrting as I want to see those before making any conclusions as to near term technicals.

One thing I do want to point out however is that in spite of the pitiful GDP numbers, the bond market is FALLING. This is to me, perhaps, the most important price action of today's session. One would have expected slowing growth to rev up bond buying; it is not. The opposite is what is happening. The yield on the Ten Year note is now OVER 2.0% as I type these comments. We will have to monitor this extremely closely. Something big might just be afoot!

Continuous Commodity Index Rises - So does Silver

Silver continues it pattern of mirroring the movements of the Continuous Commodity Index ( CCI ). Today was one of those "Let's buy Commodities" Day by the hedge funds, especially in the Crude Oil and Metals markets (Palladium, Platinum, Copper). With the Dollar lower, it was the return of the "RISK ON" trade and thus recent short sellers in silver were pushed out as some fresh buying was taking place.

From a technical chart perspective, silver managed to return above broken support at the $31 level. Where it goes from here is anyone's guess. If the "Buy commodities" theme continues, silver will rise. If money flows reverse or slow into the sector, then sillver will move lower again. It really is that simple.

Volume of trades below the $31 level dried up and seemed to pick up a bit today when silver pushed above $31.25. From what I can see on this chart, if silver prices drop back below $31.10, it will probably move lower and retest yesterday's low. If it can push past $31.80 on the topside, it should revisit $32.25.

We will just have to watch.

Take a look at the following chart of the CCI and again compare it to the Silver chart. See how closely the two track each other. It is quite remarkable.

Following is a chart of the US Dollar, which is stuck in a broad coiling pattern. It is encountering selling up towards 81 and buying down towards 79. I believe that were it not for the persistent weakness in both the British Pound and the Japanese Yen, that this particular Dollar index would have already broken down to the bottom.
Those two particular currencies TOGETHER make up 1/4 or 25% of the value of the index and have both been dropping quite hard.

Here is another chart detailing the GOLD/CRUDE OIL ratio (note that I am using WTI and not Brent). As you can from the chart, gold has basically been losing ground against crude oil since late last year. This ratio is currently trading near 17 to 1. For now, inflation fears from a steadily rising crude oil price ( it is up above $97 today and looks to make a run towards $100) are not concerning the gold market.

The HUI is attempting to hang onto a key chart support level at the 400 level. As I mentioned on both the KWN Weekly Metals Wrap and in a separate post here on the site, this key mining sector index has not had a MONTHLY CLOSE BELOW the 400 level in three years. It has spiked below this level but on all occasion since then, it has managed to climb back over the 400 mark. Tomorrow is the end of the month so I am going to be paying very close attention to what it does. Bulls will not want to see this index close below 390.

Lastly, the S&P 500, the bubble that keeps on expanding, is now trading above the 1500 mark and looks as if it is now heading to 1530. It is takes that out, it is going to retest the ALL TIME HIGH. How do ya like those Federal Reserve officials and their skill at blowing one bubble after another. Are they good or what!

Trader Dan on King World News Metals Wrap

Please click on the following link to listen in to my regular weekly radio interview with Eric King on the KWN Markets and Metals Wrap.

http://kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2013/1/26_KWN_Weekly_Metals_Wrap.html

Technical Failure Continues to Haunt Gold

continued selling in gold after yesterday's confirmation of a failure to take out overhead resistance near the 50 day moving average and its further retreat from psychological resistance at the $1700 level.

Today price once again fell below the 200 day moving average as the double whammy from long liquidation from short-term oriented bulls, in conjunction with fresh short selling from speculators, has overwhelmed bids coming from the swap dealers and bullion banks who are covering previoulsy established shorts up near the overhead resistance zone.

The RSI continues to confirm the move lower within the broad sideways trading pattern that has now existed since the middle of December last year.

It is the same story for the present - speculators are not interested in gold or in anything related to gold, such as shares right now, as they are after a chance to secure better returns on investment into the broader equity markets.

Once again the S&P 500 has made yet another fresh 5 year high! (at least the bond market is finally showing some signs of rationality as it is sinking sharply). The yield on the TEn Year is knocking on the door of a 9 month high right now as it is currently sitting at 1.934%.

What is missing in gold and in the gold shares is money flows. It is really that simple. Heck, even a crude oil price that is rising, in spite of not especially bullish fundamentals, cannot seem to generate any inflation-based buying in gold right now. It is simply off the radar screen of the big hedge funds and momentum based buyers. I am not sure what it will take to recapture their enthusiasm from a fundamental standpoint at this juncture but from a technical standpoint it still goes back to the fact that gold must get a "17" handle in front of it to generate any bullish excitement.

Downside support still remains in place between $1640-$1630 on the chart having not as of yet been tested. One can assume that the same buyers whose actions have forged out that technical base of support still remain viable but we will need to see evidence of their eagerness to buy before just presuming that it is so.

Again, there is no help whatsoever coming from the mining shares which continue to effectively undercut any hint of bullish sentiment that might dare to form in the actual metals as far as the Comex futures go. I am beginning to get a sense of real capitulation selling in the mining sector. The despair, anger, frustration and downright disgust being expressed by even some long term holders of the miners is growing, rightfully so I might add as money invested in them was lost opportunity elsewhere. We will continue to look for signs therefore of a lasting bottom in that sector but so far, I do not see it as of now.

The HUI is perched periously atop major support - if that gives way for any reason - and it does not matter what that reason might or might not be at this point - the final washout in the mining sector will be underway with the transition to some very strong hands. It should be kept in mind however strong hands are "strong" because they are willing and ABLE to sit on trading losses long after weaker and less capitalized holders have thrown in the towel.

Just be careful about willy-nilly buying dips in price in these mining shares right now. Wait until you see some evidence that the selling has been exhausted. Generally speaking, that tends to take the form of a spike bottom in the gold mining shares but of course, no two days in trading are ever the same. That is what makes it difficult and requires constant diligence and flexibility.

Note on the chart below, a monthly chart, that the HUI is pressing very hard against that support level coming in near the 400 level. It is imperative that it does not close below that level before this month ends or else it will more than likely move lower and test the 370-360 level.

Considering that the price of gold was sitting closer to $1100 back in January 2010 when the HUI last had a MONTHLY CLOSE below this level, it is astonishing how pitiful the mining sector has performed especially seeing that gold is trading over $500 an ounce higher than it was back then. Why in the hell cannot some of these miners show any significantly stronger profits and offer a better return on investment for their shareholders? Thankfully there are some well run companies out there but their stocks tend to get lumped into the same outhouse as the rest of them do. I have said it before and will say it again, unless the CEO's of some of these mining companies get serious about returning shareholders value (and that means making hard decisions to rein in costs and become more efficient) they should not be surprised to see those same shareholders voting with their feet and taking their hard earned investment dollars elsewhere.

Common Sense Perverted in the Bastion of Leftism

Take a look at the following story if you have enough composure to contain the sense of revulsion and outrage that should affect all decent, caring human beings.

For his act of compassion and concern, the center of the politically correct universe will make this poor good Samaritan's life a living hell with their damned idiotic runamok political correctness.

Keep in mind that it was the District of Columbia vs. Keller in the Supreme Court case of 2008 which finally determined that the 2nd amendment right to keep and bear arms was an INDIVIDUAL RIGHT. It was DC's asinine anti-gun policies that finally brought people to their senses about what was happening to their consitutional rights.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/23/man-who-shot-dogs-biting-boy-could-face-charges/