Heavy Call Option activity in GLD

Dow Jones is reporting that some very large bets on a rise in the gold price from current levels are currently being made in the largest gold ETF, GLD.

Gold has dropped to within spitting distance of support near $1150 before rebounding higher as it was led up by Silver in today's session.

The catalyst seemed to come from the Consumer Sentiment number which was quite strong, surprisingly so. Under recent conditions, this sort of number would have been expected to generate strong selling across the precious metals sector as it further feeds the theory of tapering to begin earlier than expected.

What seems to have happened however is that when the wave of selling did not materialize, bottom pickers, as well as extremely profitable shorts, decided that was a signal to either book some profits or establish some new long positions.

Further complicating matters - it is not only the End-of-Month positioning and book squaring that is at work but also the even larger End-of-Quarter movements. Large investment funds and hedge funds will generally square their books especially after amassing such large profits on the drop in gold and gold shares over this past quarter. That generates another wave of buying.

I prefer to see what gold does next week as we start a new quarter to get a better read on whether or not we have established a lasting bottom. I still expect rallies to be sold in this market but from what level is a bit unclear. A second test of the overnight low down near $1180 would be most revealing as to whether the carnage in this market has finally come to an end.

The mining shares are quite strong today and continue to build on yesterday's mild gains. That is a good sign as they led this market lower and I believe will lead it higher when a permanent bottom is finally forged.

Take a look at this quarterly gold chart. This appears to be worst quarterly performance for gold in history!

If we ignore that spike high to $1900 and draw out Fibonacci retracement levels off the triple top at $1800, gold has bounced off the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level of the entire move beginning back in 2001. That level is near $1200 (1207 to be exact). That is constructive but quite frankly, this market has been beaten up so badly that a bounce of some sort was way overdue. I prefer to err on the side of caution as gold is entering a seasonally slow period for demand with the summer doldrums coming up. That, plus the fact that we have a big June payrolls number coming up soon and if that thing comes in stronger than the markets expect, it is going to further feed the TAPER psychology.

Let's be clear - all the way down we have had bottom callers and none of them have been correct. Eventually they will get it right but as the old saying goes, even a stopped clock is right twice a day!  Let's monitor the subsequent price action for a while before getting too dogmatic. Remember the trend in gold is now down on the shorter term charts so specs will be looking to sell rallies unless something changes on the QE front or the psychology in the market changes to one of expecting a pickup in inflation.

There is no need to be a hero and try nailing an exact bottom. It is next to impossible to do that on a consistent basis. Traders do not need to call exact tops or exact bottoms for that matter. All they need to do is to spot the change in trend and position themselves to take 60-70% out of that trend to make money. Remember, Bottom pickers and Top pickers eventually become cotton pickers!

Gold Snowballing Lower

We are seeing a snowballing effect now occurring in gold as even long term holders of the metal are getting washed out. As the metal moves lower, those who are still long are eying trendlines and support levels and are growing increasingly worried that what is left of any profits they might have in gold, since coming in back in 2010, are disappearing. That is creating forced selling further emboldening the bears who are now pressing hard on the market.

I mentioned in yesterday's post that the round numbers such as $1400, $1300 and $1200, do not seem to be holding very well on the way down but are acting much better as resistance levels on the way back up. That is proving to be the case with the $1200 level. Gold has dipped down below there twice in the last two sessions (previous session and current session). Downside momentum is favoring a push towards $1150 at this point unless price can QUICKLY recover $1200 and push away from that level to the upside.

See that previous post for downside targets....

I wanted you to notice on the weekly chart that this particular indicator that I employ has not been this oversold since the very beginning of the bull market in gold all the way back to the year 2001. As of now, I do not yet see any signs that this indicator is leveling out or is losing downside momentum. That translates to the odds favoring further downside before this wave lower is exhausted.

With no signs of inflation in the eyes on most investors, with rising interest rates and with little to no focus on the long term structural problems besetting the US (ballooning deficits and an out-of-control growth in entitlements, not to mention sovereign debts fears out of Europe receding from the front pages, gold is struggling to attract any buying among speculators.

I suspect that when price has fallen far enough however, Far Eastern buying by Central Banks and large long-term oriented interests from that region, will abruptly arise. We will continue to monitor the price charts for evidence of their footprints. For now, specs continue to unload the metal.

Let's watch the HUI however to see if there are any signs that the selling in the mining shares might possibly be coming to an end. Remember, the shares led the metal lower and will probably lead the metal higher. One day does not however make an end to a strong trend.

HUI - No Buyers

The rate of descent in the mining shares is remarkable. Rarely does one witness a collapse of this magnitude and severity without some sort of period of consolidation. It speaks to me like a final washout is underway, even of the most die-hard, long term bulls.

In a period of only 9 months, the index has lost 60% of its value. As stated before, the damage inflicted on the owners of these shares, both financially and psychologically, has just about guaranteed that the vast majority of those who bought them as a hedge against expected inflation will never again in their lifetime come back as buyers in this sector. If they do come back to gold, it will be the ETF, GLD, or some other entity but it will not be mining shares unless management makes it attractive through dividends or some other novel method to own them.

In looking for a place on the chart where the POTENTIAL for a stem in the bleeding can occur, I have noted two different sets of Fibonacci retracement levels. The first set takes the entire decade long bull market and the second takes the rally off the 2008 low, prior to the inception of QEI.

Note how close the various Fibonacci lines from both sets (red and blue lines) come closely together at key areas. Notice also how both sets have failed to offer any support.

We are now down to a region where we are running out of support levels. I have noted the next one which starts below the 200 level and extends to 186. If that cannot hold, we are back to where the index was at the bottom in 2008, near 159 - 160.

Gold Chart and Comments

Several readers have asked me where I think this move lower in gold could finally exhaust itself. That is a good question.

All I have to go off of is the chart plus the knowledge that various costs of production for gold continue to surface from the investment houses. Some put the cost between $1200 - $1250. I have seen other estimates taking that down to $1150 or so.

The point is that gold is nearing levels that are going to make it extremely difficult for many mining operations to continue at any sort of profit. Already I am getting reports from S. African miners that are in trouble.

As I mentioned in a previous post, mine shut ins will only begin if gold moves to these aforementioned levels and stays there a while. If it just hits those levels and rebounds higher, the shut ins will not take place. I do believe however that we are not currently in an environment in which gold is going to violently rebound higher. Barring some unforeseen event, there is simply no reason to hold the metal especially in the face of rising interest rates and a widespread belief that inflation pressures remain subdued. Throw in the fact that the US Dollar is very strong, and that means gold is going to have a difficult time mounting any sustainable rally in price.

All this being said, the chart does provide us some interesting information when tied in with those cost of production estimates.
Notice the lines that I have marked, "SUPPORT" on the chart and note the price levels that they come in near.

The first one is just about at the $1150 level. That number is mentioned above as one of the costs of production. Then you have a major 50% Fibonacci retracement level coming in near $1090 and another level of support near $1050.

I see things as follows: Gold has round number psychological number support at the $1200 level. Thus far in this meltdown, those round numbers have not been very good at holding on the downside; rather they have served fairly well as selling points for rallies.

If $1200 fails, then you have support down at the cost of production near the $1150 level. Seeing that markets tend to always overshoot prices because of margin calls and other assorted technical factors, if $1150 failed to hold, you could see another $100 or so drop in price. That would take gold into the next support level noted below the 50% Fibonacci level which is $1050.

Let's just say that I do not believe gold prices would stay down below that level for any length of time. I remember what seems an eon ago when it was buying from the INDIAN CENTRAL BANK that took the price of gold through the $1000 level. It never saw that level again.

My thinking is that Central Bank buying will be quite intense should gold ever get to that level.

My view is that $1050 would represent a buying opportunity, should gold get down that low for long-term oriented investors. Remember, this is for investors, not traders.

Obviously any production cutbacks would impact the supply side of the supply/demand equation only. We still need to see how demand will shape up as price descends lower. Demand must exceed supply if price is to rise.

Gold Still Struggling to Attract Speculative Interest

I have written in previous posts that the gold ETF, GLD, is a proxy for speculative desire to own gold. As long as it continues to lose tonnage, it is going to be next to impossible for gold to mount a SUSTAINABLE rally.

Check out this chart and you can see what I mean...

Now compare that chart to the following chart of Comex Gold...

Here is the point to takeaway from all this... As long as the holdings of GLD continue to shrink, speculative forces are not coming in on the buy side of anything gold. Obviously, someone is acquiring the gold that is being dumped out of the ETF but for investment/trading purposes, that is all irrelevant at this point. It was speculative interest in gold that took the price higher; while that is lacking, there is no force to take the price higher.

Remember, price is like a rocket ship attempting to escape gravity to ascend - it requires THRUST. If that is missing, price will tend to fall of its own weight.

The difference between that analogy and markets is that sell side pressure can come from two sources - longs who are liquidating and selling out of their positions or fresh shorts who are entering the market. If the majority of longs sell out, then it will take another force pressing down on the gold price from above to do the work of gravity. That is the new short sellers. Whether there are enough of them to press the price significantly lower in the face of buying by strong hands is a question we are all going to learn the answer to.

A LOOK AT THE BOND CHART

In previous posts I had laid out what I believe has been happening across the financial markets this past week on the heels of the FOMC statement and Chairman Bernanke's comments.

In summary - the Fed, the ECB and the BOJ, have created an environment in which the word "RISK" had no meaning. Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away,  investors looking to put rare, scarce and hard-earned capital to work weighed the costs of so doing against the potential yield or earnings that they could expect. All things considered, if the reward was sufficient, they would choose to allocate that capital.

That all died with the advent of Central Bank intervention into the marketplace. Hailed by many, who are too short-sighted in their thinking in my view, as necessary saviors and as a sort of cosmic fire hose used to extinguish various financially-related infernos, they gave the green light to hedge funds, institutional buyers and sovereign wealth funds to throw any caution or reservations they might have to the wind and jump into a host of markets with little regard as to what might happen when the spiked punch bowl would be withdrawn.

In a near zero interest rate environment, yield hungry investors were focused on only one thing - how much they could make. Ne'er a thought flit through their minds about how much they might lose. After all, who was going to lose a dime if the almighty Central Banks were there continuously pumping liquidity into the financial systems? When this sort of environment is created, history has already taught us what to expect - a proliferation of highly leveraged, one-way bets. As long as the general consensus of the market players is that the status quo will continue, the game proceeds according to expectations and the seas are smooth.

Let a few rogue pebbles be introduced into the serene pond; a few stray gusts of wind arise, and suddenly, the sleeping mariners are startled from their complacency. That is what occurred this week.

I find it particularly insightful to observe what has happened in the interest rate markets. I have said many times, that those markets are the most significant on the planet, far more so than the equity markets and even more so than the currency markets.

Look at this chart of the US long bond. Notice the continued plunge even in the face of a sell off across the equity markets. Typically we see the exact opposite occurring when equities sell off, namely, bonds rise as money flows into safe havens. In other words, if "RISK OFF" is the play, bonds rise when equities sink.

What we had this week was BONDS FALLING right alongside EQUITIES. This is something far more than "risk off". It is a shift in perceptions aggravated by an enormous unwinding of one way bets in the interest rate and equity markets. Remember, the drive higher in stocks has been the continued expectation of unlimited amounts of liquidity. Same goes for bonds in the sense that $45 billion of Treasuries were going to be bought each and every month by the Fed as part of QE4's $85 billion per month.

Large speculators had positioned themselves accordingly in these markets to take advantage of that continued liquidity. The slightest fear that it would slow or cease altogether has set off a chain of uninterrupted selling as those massive positions built up since the start of the new year are being violently unwound en masse. Selling fuels more selling as margin calls proliferate and losses compound due to that same leverage now working against its owners. One has to wonder if we are seeing the beginning of the Central Bank encouraged bubble bursting?

Selling of the nature that we are witnessing in these markets can continue longer than many expect because it is all about money flows, reducing risk, rethinking exposure, cutting losses, etc. It will continue until all of that repositioning has been accomplished. Then the dust will settle out and we can re-evaluate.

In watching these things for as long as I have been trading, I keep coming back to the same thesis - the SOLE CAUSE OF THE WILD, INCESSANT AND UNPREDICTABLE VOLATILITY IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKETS IS EVERY BIT THE CONSTANT INTERFERENCE BY THE CENTRAL BANKS. They refuse to leave the markets alone and are thus distorting the signals that would otherwise be generated. Their actions move markets from one extreme to the other by herding speculative forces and directing them in whatever direction those policies are designed to drive them. In the process of so doing, they create the perfect environment for reckless leveraging which always ends in creating more havoc and chaos. You would have thought they might have learned something from all the crises faced since the year 2000. Apparently not. Humility is certainly not a virtue found roaming the halls of the buildings that house these Central Bankers.

Trader Dan Interviewed at King World News Markets and Metals Wrap

Please click on the following link to listen in to my regular weekly radio interview with Eric King on the KWN Weekly Metals Wrap. This week we are deviating a bit from the usual format so that I can spend more time discussing some developments in the Commitment of Traders for gold. I think this will prove helpful to many of you in better understanding what has been occurring in the gold futures market.

http://www.kingworldnews.com/kingworldnews/Broadcast/Entries/2013/6/22_KWN_Weekly_Metals_Wrap.html

Gold Bounces off Overnight Lows, but no Conviction

Gold is putting in a "dead cat bounce" in today's session after setting a fresh low of $1268 in early Asian trading last evening. For those of you new to our trader's lexicon  - even a dead cat will bounce if it is dropped to the ground from a high enough point.

Look at the volume on the bounce higher however - it is miniscule. There is simply no conviction among the bulls to come wading in feet first and buying with both fists. A market that plunges $100+ in a single day is not normally going to see an abrupt "bout face" unless there are some unusual fundamental occurrences that negate the horrendous technical damage done to the gold chart.

I do not know how to say it other than this - the gold chart stinks to high heaven right now. We are getting some short covering due to shorts booking some profits before the weekend after a nice week's work but other than a few bottom fishers, there is no strong interest in owning gold right now among the institutional crowd and certainly not among most of the large hedge funds. They are short and getting shorter.

Same goes for silver although it did manage to claw its way back above the $20 level; barely, if only for a brief period.

We will have to see if any of this short covering and bottom fishing can take the price of either metal high enough to reach some important technical chart resistance levels above the market to trigger some further buying. Frankly I would be surprised if it does.

I do think that the selling we have seen hit the entirety of the financial markets is a bit overdone as I am not expecting the Fed to pull the plug on their QE program as some seem to have read into the FOMC statement and Bernanke's comments.  When markets are this highly leveraged, lopsidedly so, the carnage being inflicting on trading accounts and the subsequent margin calls always result in an amplification of price movement.  The bulk of the crowd is all on one side of equities and that can be seen in the extent of the downside movement in the S&P for example.

It looks however as if we are getting some two-sided trade in the Emini S&P futures in today's session so maybe the worst of the reaction in stocks is over. Once the bleeding stems, traders will then have some time to actually think about and reflect more on the comments of the FOMC instead of just reacting to every price tick.

The close today in the S&P will be critical but perhaps the response of traders come Monday will be more telling. If we see the S&P moving higher again and getting back above Thursday's high early in the week, that will be a sign that the "buy the dip" crowd is back. If however the index falters, especially if it violates this week's low, that would portend a deeper retracement. Every bit of this depends on just exactly how the majority interpret the latest round of Fed-speak when it comes to their QE.

Sad isn't it that the once proud US financial market system, which actually traded fundamentals has been reduced to a quivering hulk of jelly begging sustenance from its masters as the Fed.


The US Dollar seems to be the King of the World again although from a technical chart perspective it is stuck in a broad trading range of some 4 full points on the USDX; 84.50 on the top and 80.50 on the bottom.