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This essay is based on the Premium Update posted
on June 6th, 2009.
This week we have seen precious metals and mining stocks peak, just as I've
indicated in the previous Premium Update. In the summary of last week's update
I wrote that "Although prices of gold, silver and mining stocks are reaching
their own resistance levels, such a correction will most likely be caused by
some kind of catalyst, probably a strong move in the U.S. Dollar, or in the
general stock market". It turned out that the catalyst was in fact the
U.S. Dollar, however I will get back to this issue later in this update.
I will start explaining my opinion on the current situation on the precious
metals market, by covering one of our indicators (from the Charts section).
It has been particularly useful in determining bottoms during the big comeback
of the precious metals sector (approximately since October 2008). The SP Short
Term Gold Stock Bottom Indicator has signaled virtually every important local
bottom in the previous 8 months, and thus it is definitely worth including
in this update. Please take a look at the chart below for details.

For those of you, who are not yet familiar with our Charts section
- the buy signal is given, when indicator is below the dashed line and starts
to rise (when value of the indicator has been falling for 3 consecutive days
and then the next day is higher). It is based on data from more than one market
(it's much more complex than ratios), so it really is available on our website
on an exclusive basis.
It was at the end of March 2009 when this indicator flashed the last "buy" signal.
The reason that I mention this indicator today is not because of what it has
just signaled, but because of the fact that it did NOT signal anything so far,
and this situation is likely to change in the near future. Naturally, just
as this indicator's name suggests, I have designed it to help us determine
particularly favorable moments to add to our long- and/or close/limit short
positions in PM stocks. Since this indicator's performance has been so impressive
in the recent months, it makes sense to take a closer look at the way it works.
As I mentioned above, the first condition that needs to be met in order for
this indicator to signal a speculative buying opportunity is that it needs
to be below the dashed line. This line corresponds to the 0% level in the right
vertical axis. Once the indicator goes below the dashed line, it will flash "buy" as
soon as it turns up. Right now we have just seen this indicator break below
the 0% level, so the "buy signal" is rather near. Of course, it may continue
to fall for an additional week or two, but the history shows that it turns
up rather quickly after going below the dashed line.
The implication of the above analysis for anyone interested in PM stocks is
that we may soon have a favorable buying opportunity, as this indicator
turns up. Naturally, many factors need to be considered (definitely more
than one indicator), but given the extraordinary performance of this particular
technique, one should not ignore it.
Similar thing can be said about physical metals, as they usually move together
with the mining stocks (usually lagging behind them, but there are many exceptions
from this general rule). In other words - gold and silver are positively correlated with
mining stocks.
USD Index
Last week I mentioned that USD Index is in the oversold territory and bound
for a quick bounce. This week that pullback materialized.

USD Index briefly touched the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level and bounced.
The question here is whether this was the ultimate bottom (unlikely in my view),
a correction that is already completed (more likely), or the beginning of a
several-week correction (even more likely).
For more detailed signals we need to consider a short term chart.

The short-term chart gives us additional resistance levels that might stop
this rally, but none of them provides one decisive resistance level. Rallies
that begin with a fake breakout or fake breakout tend to be stronger than those,
who begin in a different way, so I expect this rally to continue in the following
days. It's too early to say where exactly this rally will end, but nonetheless
I've marked the most probable topping area with a red ellipse. This corresponds
to approximately 82-83 level.
In sum, the USD Index appears to have put a local bottom. It is too early
to say where and when this rally may end, but short-term factors suggest that
it will go above the 82 level. Analysis of USD Index from a long-term perspective
provides us with additional details, but that part of my commentary is reserved
for Premium Service Members.
Gold

This week gold has moved lower along with rise in the value of USD Index.
As I mentioned above, U.S. Dollar is likely to move higher in the following
days/weeks, we may see gold move even lower on a short-term basis. This is
confirmed by the high, negative correlation between USD and gold, and the way
volume shaped during the previous week.
If you looked at the volume from a broad perspective, you would not see anything
extraordinary - the average value of volume has been neither exceptionally
high, nor low. However, once you consider details, the outlook becomes rather
bearish in the short term. The point here is that volume has been declining
while gold has been rising and it rose along with declining gold price. Volume
usually confirms the direction in which the market is headed, and this time
it points to lower prices in coming days. Naturally, a day or two of pause
are possible (and also quite likely), as gold is currently just at its support
level, but still - it is likely that gold will move lower in the short term.
Silver
Similar analysis can be applied also to the silver market

As mentioned above, from the short term point of view, the situation on the
silver market is currently similar to the one on the gold market. Moreover,
the volume gives much clearer signals, as the difference between days when
price of silver rose and days when it fell, is even more evident. Therefore,
the silver market may also experience a correction from here.
Summary
The USD Index has just bounced after having declined for a month, which lead
to lower values throughout the whole PM sector. Taking into account dollar's
previous correction and the technical situation in gold, silver, and mining
stocks, we may expect this correction to continue for the next few days/weeks.
Once this "breather" is complete, we will probably have a favorable buying
opportunity, which will most likely be confirmed by indicators from our Charts section.
Naturally, long-term situation still remains bullish for the whole PM sector,
as the fundamentals are
favorable.
To make sure that you get immediate access to my thoughts on the market, including
information not available publicly, I urge you to sign up for my free e mail
list. Sign up today and
you'll also get free, 7-day access to the Premium Sections on my website, including
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