Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The Precious Metals MAJOR Breakout Part II

It has been a year since the price of gold bullion topped out and even longer for silver. Many traders and investors have been patiently waiting for this long term consolidation pattern to breakout and trigger the rally for precious metals and miner stocks. Most of gold bullion is used for investment purposes. As a result, it rises when there is economic weakness and investors lose confidence in the fiat currency of a country.

With continuing economic weakness in the United States it will almost certainly lead the Federal Reserve to act in way that is more powerful than Operation Twist which is the selling of short term securities to buy those with a longer term. Based on the most recent data, economic growth in the United States is falling as the unemployment rate rises. A recent statement by the Federal Reserve was unusually clear in calling for greater action in the future.  

Gold, Silver and Dollar Weekly Price Chart:

Take a look at the weekly charts below which compare gold and silver to the US Dollar index. You will notice how major resistance for metals lines up with major support for the dollar. As this time metals are still in consolidation mode (down trend) and the dollar is in an uptrend.

Weekly Metals Outlook

Gold Miners ETF Weekly Chart:

Gold miners have been under pressure for a long time and while they make
money they have refused to boost dividends. That being said I feel the time
is coming where gold miner companies breakout and rally then start to raise
dividends in shortly after to really get share prices higher.

GDX - Gold Miner Stock ETF

On August 13th I talked about the characteristic’s and how to trade the next
precious metals breakout and where your money should be for the first half
of the rally and where it should rotate into for the second half. Doing this could
double you’re returns. Click here to read part one "Gold Mining Stocks 

Overall I feel a rally is nearing in metals that will lead to major gains. It may
start this week or it still could be a couple months down the road. But when
it happens there should be some solid profits to be had. I continue to keep
my eye on this sector for when they technically breakout and start an uptrend.

 If you would like to get my weekly analysis on precious metals and the 
board market be sure to join my free newsletter at The Gold & Oil Guy.com 


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Gold Price and Indian Demand Shifting Trends

From Chris Vermeulen at The Gold & Oil Guy.com.......

One of the top stories in the financial markets in 2012 has to be the stagnation in the price of gold at around $1600 an ounce, which is down approximately 17% from its peak at $1920.30. Those bullish on the yellow metal have been disappointed in gold’s performance while those bearish on the shiny metal have reveled in its stagnation, saying that gold’s status as a safe haven is over.

What is behind gold’s sluggish performance in 2012? There are several reasons, but one of the key fundamental reasons has been the lack of demand from traditionally the largest buyer of gold on the planet – India (although China will surpass it this year). India bought only 181.3 tons in the second quarter of 2012, a 2-year low, according to the London-based World Gold Council.

There are several factors at play as to why Indian demand for gold has fallen. One reason is the sharp drop in the value of its currency, the rupee, which is down by 25% versus the U.S. dollar this year. This decline has kept gold prices high in relative terms while the actual dollar value of gold was falling. Perhaps even more important has been the ‘war’ declared on gold by its central bank which has blamed all of the country’s economic ills on Indian citizens’ traditional buying of gold. In an attempt to slow down gold and silver imports, the Indian government has imposed new taxes on the purchase of these precious metals.

But even though demand for the precious metal is way down in India, the situation still offers hope for gold bulls. Why? Because we’ve been here before – in 2009 to be exact. In early 2009, the Indian economy and rupee tanked. Gold demand almost completely dried up. According to precious metals consultancy GFMS, Indian demand for gold in the first quarter of 2009 collapsed by 77%. For the full year GFMS said Indian consumption dropped by 19%.

Now with the Indian economy slowing to its weakest growth rate in nearly a decade and the rupee falling, we are seeing a replay of 2009. The monsoon season has been poor, hitting farmers – among the biggest buyers of gold – hard. Gold prices have hit a record high in rupee terms, and India is expected to purchase, as forecast by the World Gold Council, only 750 tons of gold, down 25% from 2011 levels. Meanwhile, the WGC forecasts that China will buy 850 tons of gold this year.

Investors should pay heed to the clues that recent history is giving us. The drop in Indian demand is simply a cyclical phenomenon due to the lousy state of the Indian economy. It will recover eventually. And when it does, look out for the fireworks from renewed Indian demand for gold added to the Chinese demand. In 2010, as pent-up demand for gold was unleashed, Indian gold consumption soared 74% to a record high of 1,006 tons according to GFMS.

Gold bulls surely hope we see something similar in 2013 and that is exactly what I talked about last week based around gold miner stocks and also what Dave Banister’s recent gold forecast was about at TheMarketTrendForecast.com sees in 2013.

Gold Chart Showing 2009 Collapse and Outcome and Current Gold Price Analysis:
Gold Forecast - India Gold demand
Gold Forecast - India Gold demand

Gold Trading & Investing Conclusion:
In short, gold and gold stocks have a lot of work to do before they truly breakout into the next major leg higher. I feel we are nearing that point and they may have bottomed already. Starting a small long position to scale in I think is a safe play. But I would only add more once the trend actually turns up and shows strength in terms of price and volume action.

If you would like to get my weekly analysis on precious metals and the board market be sure to join my free newsletter at The Gold & Oil Guy.com

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Monday, August 20, 2012

Looks like the copper market is signaling a top in the SP 500

The past 5 – 6 weeks have seen equity prices move considerably higher amid growing concerns regarding the European debt crisis, the instability of the Middle East, and ultimately the potential for a major economic slowdown in the United States.

U.S. equity indexes have continued to climb the proverbial “Wall of Worry” since the first week of June and have put on an incredible run. This past Friday saw the S&P 500 Index (SPX) post the highest weekly close of 2012. The perma bears have been calling for a top and continue to run scared as light volume and volatility have given the bulls an edge during August.

The next key overhead resistance level for the S&P 500 Index to hurdle is the 1,440 resistance zone lingering slightly overhead. I try to refrain from calling tops or bottoms as I feel its a fool’s game that ultimately humbles most market prognosticators. If calling tops and bottoms was easy, investors and traders alike would be able to produce monster gains all the time with uncanny precision.

Instead of trying to predict where the S&P 500 Index will find resistance or create an intermediate to longer term top, I will simply posit some technical and macro-economic data that indicates we are likely closing in on a major top.

As stated above, the recent rally we have seen has taken place on relatively light volume and plunging volatility as measured by the Volatility Index (VIX).

Volatility Index (VIX) Weekly Chart
Volatility Index (VIX) Weekly Chart
Volatility Index (VIX) Weekly Chart

As can be seen above, Friday’s weekly close for the VIX was the lowest in 2012 and ultimately one of the lowest closing price levels in several years. While the VIX is trading at a major intermediate low, there remains a lower support level going back to late 2006 and the early part of 2007 around the 10 price level.

The perma bulls would argue that we could see those 2006 – 2007 lows tested, but based on September monthly VIX options the option market seemingly is arguing that we are approaching an intermediate low in the Volatility Index. The chart below illustrates the September VIX option chain based on Friday’s closing prices.

Volatility Index (VIX) September Monthly Option Chain
Volatility Index (VIX) September Monthly Option Chain
Volatility Index (VIX) September Monthly Option Chain

Price action is never wrong, but many times a great deal of information can be acquired by simply reviewing option prices. As can be seen above, the VIX closed on Friday at 13.45, a new 2012 low. However, when we consider the prices in the VIX September option chain shown above I would point out that the VIX September 13 Puts are 0 bid.

What this essentially means is that the VIX options market is saying that the Volatility Index is unlikely to move below 13 in September. For readers unfamiliar with options, selling a naked put or using a put credit spread are two trading structures that are bullish regarding the underlying asset which in this case is the VIX.
The VIX September 13 puts are offered at 0.05 on the ask, but are at 0 on the bid.

This means that the VIX market makers are not expecting to see the VIX move below 13. Clearly this is not a guarantee as there is never a sure thing in financial markets. However, this pricing situation for the September 13 VIX Puts is favorable for the equity bears in September.

In layman’s terms, the VIX needs to move higher in the next 3 weeks based on the fact that the September VIX 13 Puts are 0 bid. This is one of several clues that we could be nearing a major top in the S&P 500 Index in the very near future.

When we look at a weekly chart of the S&P 500 Index (SPX) it is obvious that we have a major longer term breakout which occurred this past week. However, there remains additional resistance overhead in the 1,440 – 1,450 price range.

S&P 500 Index (SPX) Weekly Chart
S&P 500 Index (SPX) Weekly Chart

While 1,440 might be a major area where a significant top could form, a rally above this level cannot be ruled out entirely. However, the chart above gives traders and investors a context for where possible tops could form.

A reversal could play out almost immediately at the current levels or we could move considerably higher before finding major resistance that holds. For now, we do not have enough evidence based on the S&P 500 Index price chart to proclaim that a top has formed or will form in the near future.

Another underlying asset that I monitor closely is copper futures. Generally speaking, if copper futures are rallying economic conditions tend to be strong. The opposite can be said when copper futures are under selling pressure. Recently copper futures prices have been trading in a relatively tight trading range, but the longer term weekly chart shown below demonstrates that should prices start to sell off, a major sell off could transpire.

Copper Futures Weekly Chart
Copper Futures Weekly Chart

As shown above, there is a monstrously large head and shoulders pattern (bearish) that goes back to early 2010 that has formed on the weekly chart. Should the neckline of this pattern get taken out on a weekly close the selling pressure that could transpire could be devastating regarding the price of copper.

However, a major selloff in copper would also indicate that economic conditions were weakening globally. If copper triggers this bearish pattern, it would likely not be long before other risk assets followed suit.
In addition to the possibility that major selling pressure could await copper should that pattern trigger, another macroeconomic data point would argue that economic conditions are already starting to contract.

The chart shown below, courtesy of Bloomberg, illustrates the amount of waste hauled by railroad cars and the implicit correlation to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

Waste Railcar Loads Versus GDP Chart
Waste Railcar Loads Versus GDP Chart
Waste Railcar Loads Versus GDP Chart

Recently Zerohedge.com posited an article that featured this chart and a link to that article is found HERE. The article and the accompanying chart demonstrate that as more products are produced, additional waste can be expected. As shown above, the amount of waste being produced and hauled by railcar has fallen off a cliff and should longer-term correlations remain intact a contraction in U.S. GDP is likely not far away.
There are a multitude of other topping triggers that I follow that are all screaming that a major intermediate and possibly even a longer-term top is nearby. However, at the moment the price action in the S&P 500 Index (SPX) is arguing otherwise.
Picking tops and bottoms in advance is extremely difficult and generally foolhardy, however when multiple triggers are going off regarding a possible type I pay close attention to price action. While I will not go as far as to say where specifically a top in the S&P 500 Index will form, I believe that a top is forthcoming and could even occur in the next 2 – 3 weeks.

Price is never wrong, and eventually I suspect that price will tell us what we wish to know. For now, I am going into the next few weeks with caution regarding the upside in risk assets. However, it is important to point out that I am not looking to get short risk assets either.

My research indicates that a major inflection point is coming and it could coincide with the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole summit. It could coincide with an event that we are unaware of as well. At the moment risk in either direction seems high and caution regardless of directional bias should be exercised. The next few weeks should tell the ultimate tale.

Happy Trading!

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Chris Vermeulen & J.W. Jones


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

AAPL Trade Considerations for Option Expiration Week

Option trading is not “just the same as stocks.” It turns on the three primal forces ruling an options trader’s world....time to expiration, price of the underlying, and implied volatility.

As expiration approaches, the forces of time exert their strongest influence of the cycle on a trader’s positions. In today’s blog, written as August expiration is but a few days away, I want to call attention to some of the practical considerations traders would be well advised to incorporate into their trading plan.

Pundits have long cited the aphorism that there are only two sure things in life, death and taxes. Options traders must incorporate a third inevitability, the time component (aka the extrinsic component) of an option premium goes to zero at the closing bell of options expiration. This occurrence is neither negotiable nor avoidable and it occurs with clockwork like precision.

A recent change to the market has introduced an important new element to the long standing monthly expiration cycle. The tremendous popularity of weekly options has rendered every Friday the end of an expiration cycle.

It is critically important to recognize this new phenomenon because it allows tailoring of strategies to fit more precisely the anticipated time frame in which the trader’s hypotheses play out.

Let us consider some of the practical implications of this cyclical pattern. I have discussed before in this blog the fact that erosion of time premium is not linear across the life of an option but accelerates dramatically as expiration approaches. Expiration week is where this acceleration reaches its greatest pace as it heads to zero at Friday’s closing bell.

What is often not immediately understood by the new option trader is the radical change in the risk / reward ratio of a trade produced by this erosion. Consider a simple one legged trade. A trader who was bullish on AAPL during the price weakness in late July could have chosen to sell naked puts to reflect his price view. The graph below shows the trade of selling short the August 545 strike put at mid day on Thursday July 26 with 23 days to expiration:


The trader would have taken a credit of around $425 for each contract he sold on this trade with a probability of success of 84%. The trade could have been closed last Friday for $16/contract locking in $409 per contract less commission.

While the probability of AAPL trading below the 545 strike as August expiration approaches is close to 0, it is not O. To accept the risk of a Black Swan event occurring in order to capture the remaining 3.8% of the initial credit is not smart trading. The general rule of thumb I follow in this type of trade is to close or roll up the position to a higher strike when 80% of the initial credit received has been captured.

Perhaps the most nuanced effect of time to expiration is seen in the behavior of the butterfly trade construction. To review briefly, remember that the classic butterfly is constructed in either calls or puts and consists of both a debit and a credit spread which share the same short strike.

Butterfly positions have the interesting characteristics of responding only minimally if at all to price movement when far out in time from expiration. These same trade structures will react violently to price movement when little time to expiration remains.

An example could be constructed during the July AAPL price rout. Let us assume a trader was sufficiently prescient to predict the price recovery. In order to capture this hypothesized movement, he could have purchased the August 605/-625/645 in a (+1/-2/+1 standard butterfly ratio) call butterfly spread on July 26th. This trade structure is a defined risk position where the maximum risk is the cost of entering the position.

This position would have been very inexpensive because of two factors:

1. Implied volatility was elevated, rendering the butterfly cheap.

2. The center strike where the options were sold short and the point of the theoretical maximum profitability had less than a 5% chance of being in-the-money.

The P&L graph for this position at the time of entry is presented below:


Several practical points bear emphasis. First, the maximum potential profit from this low probability trade is in excess of 1800%. This trade construction which cost around $100 per spread at the time could have been closed last Friday for a profit of over $850 per spread.

Second and the point germane to today’s discussion is the behavior of the trade with regard to time. Notice that the broken lines, representing intermediate time points in the trade achieve nowhere near the full profit potential that exists when expiration arrives.

However, not to be missed is the fact that the range of profitability narrows dramatically as expiration is approached. It is for this reason that most experienced butterfly traders remove profitable trades before their wild relationship to price is activated as expiration gets quite close.

I want to be very clear about this demonstrated butterfly trade. This is not a typical trade I would enter because of its low probability of success. I present it as a purely educational exercise to demonstrate the behavior of these frequently encountered trade structures.

I invite you to try my service to follow my trades and understand how the nuanced behavior of options can be used to deliver highly profitable trades.

Happy Trading!

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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

SP 500 “E Wave” ready to rally to Bull Market Highs

From guest analyst David Banister at Market Trends Forecast.com.......

In recent updates I have been projecting a series of ABCDE waves to take the Bull market to post March 2009 highs in the 1425-1445 ranges. The recent pullback was expected as what I was calling a “D wave” pullback, with an E wave to come. These final 5th waves or E waves can be extension waves or relatively benign, hence causing difficulty in forecasting the upper ranges.

In the case of the SP 500 index, we have had a strong rally from the 1267 lows in early June to 1409 highs so far (The C wave highs) and recently a pullback into the 1390’s (The D wave). This next leg up should carry the market indices towards the 1440 2008 interim highs which begat the last 5 wave down leg of the Bear cycle that ended at 666 on the SP 500. A case of down the mountain and up the mountain if you will since the 2008 highs to current pricing conditions at 1404.

Once this E wave completes in the 1425-1445 ranges (With an outside shot at an extension blast to 1495) we should expect a fairly significant correction of the entire move from March of 2009. This final rally leg could top anytime between Aug 13th and August 22nd as I last updated, with potential to spill over into early September.

A close over 1409 will confirm the “E wave” has begun in earnest and you may want to buckle up, as it could be the final blast before some rains begin to pour in the fall.

If you’d like to be up to date on the daily and weekly views of the SP 500 and GOLD and Silver, get a discount at Market Trends Forecast.com or sign up for our free weekly reports.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Gold Mining Stocks Continue to Disappoint ......But not for Long



It is an endless debate for investors interested in gold. Should they buy a direct play on the gold price, either gold bullion itself or even so called paper gold with an ETF such as the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD)? Or should they invest into gold equities, particularly the larger, higher quality gold mining companies?

Recent history suggests the answer is gold itself. According to Citigroup, physical gold has outperformed global gold equities 120% percent of the time over the past 5 years. Stocks of the bigger gold mining firms seem to react adversely to bad news (which is normal), but the problem is they react with no more than a yawn to good news. These type of stocks are contained in the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX).


Evidence of this trend can been see in the latest news to hit the industry…the slowdown in expansion as recently signaled by the world’s largest gold producer, Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX). The company’s stock has fallen by more than 30 percent over the last year due to cost overruns at major projects. The latest blowup in costs of up to $3 billion occurred in its estimate for development of its flagship Pascua-Lama project on the border of Chile and Argentina. The project may now cost up to $8 billion.

In addition, Barrick decided to shelve the $6 billion Cerro Casale in Chile and the $6.7 billion Donlin Gold project in Alaska. Barrick is not alone in its thinking among the major gold producers. The CEO of Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE: AEM), Sean Boyd, recently said “The era of gold mega projects may be fading. The industry is moving into an era of cash flow generation, yields and capital discipline.”

Fair enough. But are gold mining companies’ management walking the walk about yields or just talking the talk? Last year, many of the larger miners made major announcements that they would be focusing on boosting their dividends to shareholders in attempt to attract new stockholders away from exchange traded vehicles such as GLD, which have siphoned demand away from gold equities. Barrick, for example, did boost its dividend payout by a quarter from the previous level. Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM), which has also cut back on expansion plans, has pledged to link its dividend payout to the price of gold bullion.

So in effect, the managements at the bigger gold mining companies (which are having difficulties growing) are trying to move away from attracting growth-only investors to enticing investors that may be interested in high dividend yields. This is a logical move.

But rising costs at mining projects may put a crimp into the plans of gold mining companies’ as they may not have the cash to raise dividends much. And they have done a poor job of raising dividends for their shareholders to date. In 2011 the dividend yields for gold producers globally was less than half the average for the mining sector as a whole at a mere 1.3 percent. Their yields are below that of the base metal mining sector and the energy sector.

It seems like management for these precious metal companies have the similar emotional response shareholders have when they are in a winning position. When the investor’s brain has experienced a winning streak and is happy it automatically goes into preservation/protection mode. What does this mean? It means management is going to tight up their spending to stay cash rich as they do not want to give back the gains during a time of increased uncertainty. Smaller bets/investments are what the investor’s brain is hard wired to do which is not always the right thing to do…

Looks like there is still a lot work to be done by gold mining companies’ to improve returns to their shareholders. But with all that set aside it is important to realize that when physical gold truly starts another major rally. These gold stocks will outperform the price of gold bullion drastically for first few months.


Gold Miner Trading Conclusion:

In short, it seems gold has been forming a major launch pad for higher prices over the past year. Gold bullion has held up well while gold miner stocks have given up over 30% of their gains. If/when gold starts another rally I do feel gold miner stocks will be the main play for quick big gains during the first month or two of a breakout. The increased price in gold could and value of the mining companies reserves could be enough to get management to start paying their investors a decent dividend which in turn would fuel gold miner shares higher.

Both gold and silver bullion prices remain in a down trend on the daily chart but are trying to form a base to rally from which may start any day now. Keep your eye on precious metals going into year end.

If you would like to get my weekly analysis on precious metals and the board market be sure to join my free newsletter at The Gold & Oil Guy.com


Friday, August 10, 2012

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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Is Gold Close to Confirming a Breakout to All Time Highs

Is late summer or fall of 2012 going to be remembered for gold making a run to all time highs. Today David Banister gives us his take on where this gold market is headed in the near future......

Back in the fall of 2011 I was warning my subscribers and the public via articles to prepare for a large correction in the price of GOLD. The metal had experienced a primary wave 3 rally from $681 per ounce in the fall of 2008 to the upper $1800’s at the time of my warnings in the fall of 2011. A 34 Fibonacci month rally was sure to be followed by an 8-13 month consolidation period, or what I would term a Primary wave 4 correction pattern.

We have seen GOLD drop at low as the $1520’s during this expected 8-13 month window, but at this time it looks to me like a break over $1630 on a closing basis will put the nail in the wave 4 coffin. I expect GOLD to rally for about 8-13 months into at least June of 2013 and our longstanding target has been in the $2300 per ounce arena in US Dollar terms. Some pundits have much higher targets in the $3,500 per ounce or higher area but I am using my low end targets for reasonable accuracy.

This 5th wave up can be difficult to project because 5th waves in stock or metals markets can be what are called “Extension” waves. This means they can have a potentially much larger percentage movement relative to the prior waves 1 and 3 of the primary bull market since 2001. You can end up with a parabolic move at the end of wave 5, where those $3000 plus targets are possible. I expect the 5th wave to be about 61% of the amplitude of wave 3, which ran from 681 to 1923, or about $1242 per ounce. If we were to apply that math, we come up with $767 per ounce of rally off the wave 4 lows. $1520 plus $767 puts us at $2287 per ounce, or roughly $2300 an ounce low end target.

In summary, crowd behavior is crucial to the next coming movement in GOLD and it could be a sharp rally that catches many off guard, much like the downdraft last fall did the same to the Bulls. Be prepared to go long GOLD once over $1630 per ounce and buy dips along the way up to $2300 into the summer of 2013.


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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Do You Agree.... The SP 500 Nearing a Cyclical High

One of our favorite traders to follow is David Banister [make sure to sign up for his calls] and he just sent over this great post on his thoughts on the SP 500 nearing a cyclical high in the coming two weeks of trade. And here's what he is thinking.......

The SP 500 has rallied to a post June 4th high of 1409 this week, about 13 points shy of the Bull Market cycle highs of 1422 earlier this year.

The rally has overlapped along the way, forming a series of “3′s” which are sometimes found in impulsive bullish moves, but usually found at the end of bull cycles whether they be short term or long term cycles.

To wit, the first 11 trading days off the 1267 SP 500 lows saw a 97 point rally, again in only 11 trading days.

The last 34 trading days we have only been able to move up about 44 further points, indicating the rally is getting long in the tooth and a bit tired at that.

So 11 days, 97 points… 34 more days, only 44 further points.

Another 10 trading days would mark a 55 fibonacci trading day cycle, so we should be alert to potential rally highs between August 13th and August 22nd as a window for a top.

A few days ago I discussed we may see a continual sloppy drift up to 1425-1445 ranges, with 1434 a key pivot line to watch.

Although the count doesnt really fit for me, if this rally from the June lows is a 5th and final wave up… then a 5th wave rally to complete a larger cycle often is characterized by a series of 3′s.

To summarize:

The first leg of the rally was a 3 wave rally to 1363, about 97 points in 11 days. We have continued with overlapping 3′s. This final stage of the rally is likely going to be 5 waves or ABCDE in nature to complete the entire cycle up from 1267

That cycle high should come within the Aug 13th-22nd window and in the 1425-1445 ranges.


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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Silver Suffers The Most From Bernanke And What Is Next

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While the exchange traded funds for gold and copper fell today due to investors expressing disappoint at the modest response of the Federal Reserve to declining economic growth, it was silver that was off the most.

SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) fell in trading today by 0.89%. IPath Dow Jones Copper (JJC) dropped 1.89%.  Plunging the deepest was iShares Silver Trust (SLV), off by 2.14%.

Traders were hoping for more aggressive action by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. But that will not come until after the November elections in the United States. Remember that Quantitative Easing 2 did not begin until November 2010, though it was announced at the Jackson Hole economic policy summit in August of 2010.

Silver is in what would seem to be the “sweet spot” between gold and copper.  Almost all of gold is used for investment or decorative purposes.  Almost all of The Red Metal goes for industrial needs.   For silver, it comes almost down right in the middle between commercial and a commodity for investments or jewelry.  The charts below show the trading relationship for each of the exchange traded funds when paired against each other.

JJC Copper ETF Trading


Even though silver has a much higher industrial usage, the SLV moves along with the GLD.   As a result, it soared during Quantitative Easing 2.  Obviously, the charts reveal that most of the trading is from speculators as the JJC should move in an inverse relationship with the GLD.  That is due to gold being used almost entirely for non-industrial end uses while copper is used almost industrial for industrial uses.

Up slightly for the week as traders thought more dramatic economic stimulus efforts would result from the Federal Open Market Committee meeting  other than an extension until the end of the year for Operation Twist, the SLV is down for the last month, quarter, six months and 52 weeks of market action.  Year to date, the SLV is off by 1.48%.

For the last year, however, the SLV is down 33.35%.  Volume was up today, with the SLV below its 20 day, 50 day and 200 day moving averages.  In the most obvious trend, it is trading much lower under its 200 day day moving average at 11.67% down than underneath the 20 day moving average, beneath it by only 0.17%.  The only move worth noting in the technical indicators for silver were the long engulfing green bodies last week after Treasury Secretary Geithner’s  gloomy testimony on The Hill and more bad economic news from the US peaked buying as traders thought Quantitative Easing 3 was coming.

SLV ETF Trading


If traders long on silver are looking for help from Bernanke, it will not be coming until after the November election, though it could be announced when he speaks later this month at Jackson Hole.

Chris Vermeulen


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