Thursday, May 31, 2012
Monthly Gold Charts for May 2012
I do want to note that since we are facing a very similar set of deflationary factors at the current time as we did back in 2008 when the credit crisis first erupted, that time frame is an analogous year and for that reason provides at least some sort of frame of reference for a guide to price action.
Using MONTHLY CLOSING PRICES only, gold fell from a peak of $975 down to a low of $715 or a drop of 26.5% from it best monthly closing price BEFORE THE FED made clear that a round of Quantitative Easing would commence. You will recall that the purchases consisted mainly of Mortgage Backed Securities which were plummeting in value and wreaking havoc on bank balance sheets.
Fast forward to today - this time around it is Sovereign Debt out of Europe that is the culprit behind the destruction of the European Banks's Balance Sheets. Gold hit a monthly closing peak price of $1828.50. For the month of May it has closed at $1526.60 for a drop of 16.5%.
Worst case scenario would see a fall of another $183 from the current level or down towards $1344. Keep in mind however that back in 2008, the idea that the Fed would actively step in and actually buy up mortgage paper on the open market and serve as a buyer of last resort was a rather novel idea, even though it had been discussed in some circles as an academic type of matter. Now it is pretty much expected that not only will the Fed buy up such paper but also Treasuries themselves. I expect before this is all over, we might even see the Fed buying US stocks or at least stock indices.
Also, gold fell 26.5% from its peak back in 2008 while during the same time period the S&P 500 collapsed at whopping 47.7% from its May 2008 ClOSE to its February 2009 CLOSE. Does anyone really believe that the Fed is going to stand by and allow the US equity markets to lose nearly HALF THEIR VALUE before they act, especially during an election year??? I doubt it! Not when Bernanke and company are FAR MORE FEARFUL of ANY DEFLATIONARY event than they are of INFLATION.
Central Bankers are essentially confident that they can corral inflation if need be but they are terrified of having a deflationary mindset take hold. They will simply not allow the latter to happen, even if it means in engaging in another wholesale round of bond purchases and further money creation.
Again, we are all reduced to sitting around and waiting for signs of sufficient deterioration in the global equity markets and credit spreads to force the Fed to act. When they do finally sally forth, gold and silver will immediately bottom and begin to trend higher as trader sentiment then shifts away from deflation and back towards inflation.
We will also see interest rates reverse and begin rising, even if only for a while.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Gold Continues to Attract Buying at the Bottom of its Trading Range
Gold has once again attracted strong buying down near the bottom of its broad 8 month trading range and has now bounced higher for the day. Strength in the yellow metal has pulled silver up a tad which was sinking under the weight of a collapsing copper market.
While some are ready to pronounce gold DEAD as a safe haven asset, the chart picture denotes otherwise, especially given the broad weakness in the commodity sector as a whole and the rallying Dollar, which continues its technical march towards the 84 level on the USDX. Whenever I see gold moving higher alongside Treasuries and the Dollar, it tells me that all such talk about gold being useless as a store of wealth, is simply false. The chart will tell you more than all the pontifications of the short-sighted analysts and pundits.
To get any sort of excitement going beyond the continued value based buying of gold, it will need to push through the $1600 level and not falter.
The mining shares are defying the general trend of equity selling today which is aiding the cause of both metals. Note that for the last two weeks, it is the mining sector which has been the bright spot in the otherwise dim US stock market.
While some are ready to pronounce gold DEAD as a safe haven asset, the chart picture denotes otherwise, especially given the broad weakness in the commodity sector as a whole and the rallying Dollar, which continues its technical march towards the 84 level on the USDX. Whenever I see gold moving higher alongside Treasuries and the Dollar, it tells me that all such talk about gold being useless as a store of wealth, is simply false. The chart will tell you more than all the pontifications of the short-sighted analysts and pundits.
To get any sort of excitement going beyond the continued value based buying of gold, it will need to push through the $1600 level and not falter.
The mining shares are defying the general trend of equity selling today which is aiding the cause of both metals. Note that for the last two weeks, it is the mining sector which has been the bright spot in the otherwise dim US stock market.
Rush into Treasuries Continues to Depress Rates
There is what feels like near-panic buying of US Treasuries at the moment, due to the implosion that we are witnessing in much of the European Sovereign Debt markets. Investors/traders are scared to death to own bonds from these problem nations and are rushing into both US Treasuries and German Bunds as safe havens.
The result has been to collapse US interest rates on the Ten Year firmly below not only the 1.8% level, but also below the intra-month spike lows near the 1.7% level. We have one more day left in the month of May but it certainly appears we are on track to set a new monthly closing low.
The flip side to this rush to Treasuries is that commodities are being thrown overboard, irrespective of any particular set of fundamentals, as hedge fund algorithms are whacking that sector, both liquidating long positions as well as instituting new bearish bets.
The question on the minds of many is when will the Fed step in to attempt to halt what looks like a growing tidal wave of deflationary pressures? My thinking is that they will not until they get the commodity sector, particularly the energy markets, more specfically the gasoline market, down to lower levels.
We are already at the 50% Fibonacci Retracement Level off the entire 2008 - 2011 rally. If the index cannot hold at this critical juncture, it will drop towards 465, which is the intersection of the bottom tine of the pitchfork and the 61.8% Retracement level. My view is that the Fed will act should commodity prices get to that level.
Keep in mind that while the Fed and the US monetary officials like these abnormally low interest rates ( it keeps loan rates cheaper and allows the US to continue borrowing and spending money at its drunken sailor pace), and while they are near gleeful at the prospect of falling food and energy prices, they do not want a deflationary mindset to take hold in the minds of investors or the public for that matter.
For investors, that will mean the equity markets willl collapse as they will dump stock holdings and for the public that means they will forego spending now on the notion that they can wait for prices to fall further. The last thing that the Fed wants is for consumers to rein in spending.
So, the question is, can the Fed get these stubbornly high gasoline prices to fall another 30 - 35 cents while holding off on any further stimulus or will the US equity market bears, force their hands?
The result has been to collapse US interest rates on the Ten Year firmly below not only the 1.8% level, but also below the intra-month spike lows near the 1.7% level. We have one more day left in the month of May but it certainly appears we are on track to set a new monthly closing low.
The flip side to this rush to Treasuries is that commodities are being thrown overboard, irrespective of any particular set of fundamentals, as hedge fund algorithms are whacking that sector, both liquidating long positions as well as instituting new bearish bets.
The question on the minds of many is when will the Fed step in to attempt to halt what looks like a growing tidal wave of deflationary pressures? My thinking is that they will not until they get the commodity sector, particularly the energy markets, more specfically the gasoline market, down to lower levels.
We are already at the 50% Fibonacci Retracement Level off the entire 2008 - 2011 rally. If the index cannot hold at this critical juncture, it will drop towards 465, which is the intersection of the bottom tine of the pitchfork and the 61.8% Retracement level. My view is that the Fed will act should commodity prices get to that level.
Keep in mind that while the Fed and the US monetary officials like these abnormally low interest rates ( it keeps loan rates cheaper and allows the US to continue borrowing and spending money at its drunken sailor pace), and while they are near gleeful at the prospect of falling food and energy prices, they do not want a deflationary mindset to take hold in the minds of investors or the public for that matter.
For investors, that will mean the equity markets willl collapse as they will dump stock holdings and for the public that means they will forego spending now on the notion that they can wait for prices to fall further. The last thing that the Fed wants is for consumers to rein in spending.
So, the question is, can the Fed get these stubbornly high gasoline prices to fall another 30 - 35 cents while holding off on any further stimulus or will the US equity market bears, force their hands?
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Trader Dan on King World News Markets and Metals Wrap
Join Eric King and I as we discuss the gold and silver market action this past week, along with an analysis of the Commitment of Traders report, the outlook for the US Dollar and the mining shares in general, on the KWN Markets and Metals Wrap.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Tough Luck to this Year's Crop of High School Graduates
As bad as things are in Europe, it is easy to forget how rotten the state of the US economy currently is. Take a look at the following story from the Washington Times to see how the recent crop of High School Graduates are going to fare in this current job market.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/24/number-of-high-school-students-with-jobs-hits-20-y/
If that is not enough to make you cringe, read the following piece that has comprised a YOUTH MISERY INDEX. It is very revealing indeed.
At no point in recent history has life been harder for America’s young people. The Youth Misery Index adds together youth unemployment, average graduating student debt (in thousands), and national debt per capita (in thousands).
Youth unemployment is at 17.4 percent—one of the highest levels since World War II.
http://www.yaf.org/youthmisery/index.html
Number of high-school students with jobs hits 20-year low
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The Washington Times
Thursday, May 24, 2012
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/24/number-of-high-school-students-with-jobs-hits-20-y/
If that is not enough to make you cringe, read the following piece that has comprised a YOUTH MISERY INDEX. It is very revealing indeed.
At no point in recent history has life been harder for America’s young people. The Youth Misery Index adds together youth unemployment, average graduating student debt (in thousands), and national debt per capita (in thousands).
Youth unemployment is at 17.4 percent—one of the highest levels since World War II.
http://www.yaf.org/youthmisery/index.html
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Trader Dan interviewed at King World News on Gold and Gold Stock Action
Please click on the following link to read my interview with Eric King on the KWN network about today's price action in both gold and the gold shares.
Continuous Commodity Index - Fed Operation "Push Down Commodities" Successful
I have been convinced for some time now that the Fed is growing increasingly concerned about the impact from both the Eurozone and the slowdown in China on the US economy. The swooning equity markets in the US ( the S&P 500 is almost negative on the year as of the low today) are heralding investor fears and uncertainty over when the next round of stimulus might be coming.
Yet the Fed continues to remain relatively silent when it comes to committing to any definitive date for another round of bond purchases even as the yield on the Ten Year Note is now close to 1.70%, having clearly broken below the critical 1.8% level last week.
I have maintained for some time that the Fed fully understands the impact that another round of QE will unleash on the commodity markets and is therefore attempting to see these markets driven lower before engaging more actively in QE talk. As stated many times here already, the danger they face in this gambit that they are playing is a collapsing stock market. One wonders just how much more downside they are going to try to squeeze out of the commodity markets before stepping in.
If you notice on the chart below, the CCI has one more line of support near the 500 level, which is the 38.2% retracement level of the entire rally from the 2008 low. If that does not halt the decline in the commodity world in general, then it is quite conceivable that the index could fall all the way to the 50% retracement level near 438. That level is also reinforced as technically significant as it is near the lower tine of the pitchfork drawn off the 2001 low and 2008 high, an area where we can expect to see some buying emerge.
While one can see that the long term macro trend on commodity prices remains higher, the intermediate trend is lower as is the minor trend which can be clearly seen on a daily chart.
For the silver guys out there, you will need to see this chart show some definite signs of bottoming before silver can be expected to start any sort of uptrending move.
Yet the Fed continues to remain relatively silent when it comes to committing to any definitive date for another round of bond purchases even as the yield on the Ten Year Note is now close to 1.70%, having clearly broken below the critical 1.8% level last week.
I have maintained for some time that the Fed fully understands the impact that another round of QE will unleash on the commodity markets and is therefore attempting to see these markets driven lower before engaging more actively in QE talk. As stated many times here already, the danger they face in this gambit that they are playing is a collapsing stock market. One wonders just how much more downside they are going to try to squeeze out of the commodity markets before stepping in.
If you notice on the chart below, the CCI has one more line of support near the 500 level, which is the 38.2% retracement level of the entire rally from the 2008 low. If that does not halt the decline in the commodity world in general, then it is quite conceivable that the index could fall all the way to the 50% retracement level near 438. That level is also reinforced as technically significant as it is near the lower tine of the pitchfork drawn off the 2001 low and 2008 high, an area where we can expect to see some buying emerge.
While one can see that the long term macro trend on commodity prices remains higher, the intermediate trend is lower as is the minor trend which can be clearly seen on a daily chart.
For the silver guys out there, you will need to see this chart show some definite signs of bottoming before silver can be expected to start any sort of uptrending move.
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